LXG: Dreams of the Damned
by Nathan-Daystorm
Summary: It is the modern day. An old foe of one of the previous League members comes forth...but none of the League is here to meet him. A new League is summoned...but for two, it's already too late. Will the new League be in time to stop him? Only time will
1. Default Chapter

**The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen**

**Dreams of the Damned**

**Prologue**

**Resurgence**

**7:56 pm, May 19th, 2004**

They were running down an alley.

Silent Bob wasn't sure where exactly things had gone wrong.  He wasn't even sure what exactly _had_ happened, it was all so fast.  One minute he and his "hetero life mate" Jay were trying to sell some weird guy with a thick, unidentifiable accent a few nickel bags, when suddenly he'd smacked Jay across the face with a backhand that sent him reeling.  Silent Bob had started to move forward to knock the weird guy around, but the man had simply lifted up his cane and withdrawn a thin, yet deadly sharp blade from within.  Bob's eyes had widened and Jay had let out a rather soft string of expletives.  Bob had dodged one horizontal slash from the man's sword, and then they had both turned tail and ran.

Now, as boots pounded on pavement slick with rain and dark from the surrounding night, Bob tried to contemplate what had happened next.

They had originally thought this man was chasing them, but after about five minutes, Bob realized he couldn't hear footsteps.  So, gradually, he slowed down, and Jay had noticed and done the same.  The two had stood there stupefied for a moment, before they heard clapping from a nearby pool of shadow.  Out walked the man, clapping his hands sarcastically, followed by a small pack of demonic looking wolves.  If Bob had thought Jay's mouth was bad before, now it was positively horrendous.

For once, Bob thought about doing the same.

Instead, they ran, and this time, the man did give chase, his little pets following and leaping onto low rooftops when they could.  This is the situation they were in now, the wolves and strange man closing in.  "We just gotta get to the damn car," Jay panted.

The "car" as Jay had called it was in fact an RV.  Not just any RV, though.  No, that wasn't they're style.  The pride and joy of the pair (well, besides their weed business, of course) had indeed started out life as a regular, boring RV.  After a good deal of research, sweat, tears, smoking up, and even blood, the thing had become an enormous, state of the art, well disguised head quarters for the pair.  It was disguised as an overly large diesel truck, and was an incredibly capable vehicle.  There were bedrooms, a working kitchen (though without running water, of course) GPS, TVs, videogame systems, and even a storage place for weapons, if the pair ever had need of any.  As a plus, it was also amphibious and submersible.  The vehicle, dubbed "The sword of…hell, _anywhere_," by Jay was parked not too far from their current position.

Which is why it was so terrible for them both when one of the wolves on the roof closed the distance and leapt off, ramming into Jay's back and forcing him to go down.  The strange man was on him in a matter of heartbeats, and by the time Bob was able to grind to a stop and spin around, several feet from where Jay had fallen, he was being held up in the air by his collar by the man, who still held his sword at ease with the right hand.  Bob started to step towards them, but Jay threw out his hand.  "Don't!"  Bob shook his head and started to move forward, but was forced to dodge a lunging wolf.  "Go, fat ass!"  And then, in a desperate, sorrowful voice, Jay yelled, "Damnit Bob…_run_!"  Bob could tell by his friend's…no, brother's tone that the usually unintelligent, smartass slacker knew it would be the final plea to his friend, knew that he was doomed and didn't want to drag Bob down with him.  There was no way Bob would be able to get there in time, and even if he did, what would he do?  The strange man seemed to have supernatural strength well beyond anything the pair had faced before.  Not to mention the wolves, and it was at that moment that Bob heard it, the screeching that could only be…bats?

Bob took off towards the Sword, tears streaming down his face, barely making it inside and slamming the door in time to avoid being dinner for some demonic wolf.  He tossed one more tear-streaked look at his friend before gunning it and pulling out of there as fast as he could.

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Bob wasn't sure who to go to.  He couldn't think straight, hell, he couldn't think at _all_.  He kept replaying the scene over in his mind, trying to figure out what exactly had happened in those first few minutes just before Jay had been sent reeling by the strange man's backhand.  He'd never had to deal with this kind of thing before, with the exception of that time with Loki and Bartleby.  Even then, Loki and Bartleby had displayed no sign of supernatural strength, control over wolves, _or_ control over bats.  There was that one other thing, too.

Loki and Bartleby had never killed Jay.

All right, maybe he didn't actually _see_ the guy killing his friend, but what else could the man have in mind?  Murder was obviously the man's intent.  Why would he have given chase if that weren't the case?

Then again, if the guy could control wolves and bats, maybe it was a futile gesture to think of him in terms of a normal person.  Because normal was something this guy definitely was _not_.  That didn't matter now, though.  Now, Bob needed a place to sleep.  He needed someone to talk to.  He needed someone to tell him just what in the bloody blue blazes had just happened.  For that, he did indeed know where to go.

To Bethany Sloane.  Because – hopefully – through her he could talk to Metatron, and there was _no way in **hell**_ that the voice of God wouldn't know what was going on.  A little voice in his head suggested that he stay and maybe warn the city.  A bigger voice in his head ruled it out with two simple words:  _Fuck Gotham._

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**11:30 pm, May 20th, 2004**

"Well, ah…can't say I can help you, Bob."  Bob's jaw dropped open.  The voice of _God_ didn't know what was going on.  Well, that was it; Bob might as well just roll over and die.  Metatron apparently read Bob's hopeless expression and did the only thing he could.  "Bethany!  You've been unusually quite during this little meeting.  What's on your mind?"

"Bob…you said this guy had control over wolves?"  Bob nodded a hopeless affirmative.  "And bats?"  Again Bob nodded, this time more angrily.  He didn't like having to repeat himself.  "Sophie hunny," Bethany cooed to her eight-year-old daughter.

"I'm _eight_, mom.  You don't need to talk baby talk with me any more."

"I know," Bethany stated, continuing with her cooing all the same, "but it's a mommy's prerogative.  Now hunny, could you please run upstairs and look in mommy's closet please?  There should be an dusty old book up there, could you bring it down?"  The eight-year-old harrumphed at her mother's teasing, but did as she was asked, clambering up the stairs as swiftly as her little legs would carry her.

"A _book_," Metatron asked, sounding a bit perplexed.  "What in the blazes do you need a _book_ for?  Sounds like this guy could use a sawed off to the chest, if you ask me."

"But nobody's asking you," Bethany replied jovially.  "Besides, since when are angels allowed to shoot at people?"

"We aren't," Metatron returned, sounding a bit miffed, "but we're allowed to _think_ it."

"Here's the book, mom," Sophie replied, trying her best not to topple down the stairs.  Metatron walked over and picked her up to make sure she didn't, not bothering to look at the book.  "Mom, who's Drac – Drac – Drac-oo-la?"  Metatron's eyes widened.

"Bloody he-," Metatron blurted, stopping himself halfway through his intended bad word for Sophie's sake.  "You really think it's him?"  Sophie tried to hand the book up to Metatron, but Bob gently took it from her hands.  He perused it for all of about two seconds, flipping pages idly, until stopping abruptly.  His eyes widened to the size of billiard balls as he intently scanned the page and he looked up at the gathered assemblage.  At first, he just wore a look that some would call "seeing a ghost."  Then, he slowly began to nod, and quite suddenly threw the book down, as if the man from the alley – Dracula, Bob now realized – would leap out of it and strike him down.  "Well, Bob," Metatron began, knowing that Bob would expect help from the Almighty on this one, "I really, really hate to be the one to tell you this, but…the Almighty can't help you."  Bethany's face took on an incredibly angry look and Metatron immediately told Sophie it was time for bed.  The tension in the room could be felt even by someone so young, so she did as told without any complaint.

"Why the FUCK can't you," Bethany exploded, as soon as Sophie was safely upstairs.  "Jay could be _dead_!"

"Easy, Bethany, easy."  Bob looked like he was damn near ready to throttle Metatron.  Hell, Metatron looked like he was ready to throttle the Almighty for imposing this rule on all her subjects.  "It's a rule.  Vampires are off-limits to both sides."

"Wait," Bethany sputtered, "just waitaminute.  Aren't vampires people who are turned into Satan's puppets?"

"Hardly," Metatron scoffed.  Bob was torn between looking angry and questioning.  In the end, the questioning look won out.  "See, vampires are pretty much reanimated corpses."

"Yeah, tell us something we don't know," Bethany, groaned.  Bob nodded in agreement.

"No, what I mean is, that's _really_ what they are.  They don't have a soul; they're just these walking corpses.  _Literally_."

"So…that's why you can't help," Bethany asked, sounding as if she at least understood.

"Now, now," Metatron said, wagging a finger, "I never said I couldn't _help_.  Just not the direct way, like Bob was thinking.  I can't just grab a couple of _angels_ and fry the guy, but I _can_ push a few buttons to maybe get a group together to do it."  Metatron then turned to face Bob, and a stern look settled on his face.  "But you'll be expected to be part of that group, understand?"  Bob leapt up and nodded, opening up his coat to reveal a steel baseball bat.  "You _do _realize this guy was fighting battles with the Turks, right?  As in _real_ battles, not your PlayStation stuff."  Bob merely grinned and waved a hand dismissively.  "Alright, prophet, alright.  Just don't fuck it up, alright?"  Before waiting for an answer, Metatron snapped his fingers and was gone.

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**7:54 pm, May 19th, 2004**

Dick Grayson was prowling the rooftops with his mentor, Bruce Wayne.

Excuse me.  Robin, the Boy Wonder, was prowling the rooftops with his mentor, Batman.

Robin was all of seventeen years of age, following around a guy in all black tights as the two of them prowled the streets.  "Well, I guess mine's not any better," he mumbled, glancing at his own costume.  It was made up of a black mask that covered little more than his eyes, a black cape, slightly violet tinted armor emblazoned with a yellow R on the right breast, black leggings, and boots.

"What was that," Batman called softly over his shoulder, his deep voice sounding silky smooth.

"Nothin'," Robin returned.  The streets of Gotham had been devoid of crime for the past few days, and now even the normally laid back Robin was beginning to get paranoid.  This pair was not used to a calm night.  Not with people like Two Face, The Riddler, The Joker, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Bane, Catwoman, and Penguin recently escaped from Arkham.  What was going on?

"There," Batman's sharp utterance cut through Robin's thoughts, and his pointing finger cut through the night.  He was right, there was something going on in the alley below them.  Together they watched as a pair of hoodlums, one somewhat short and fat, the other tall and loudmouthed, tried to sell an oddly dressed man a few bags of weed.  The man struck out swiftly – too swiftly – at the loudmouth, and the kid went sailing backwards.  The fat one started to move in, fist raised, but then the man drew a weapon both Batman and Robin recognized as a cane sword.  Both the kids looked like they were quickly reevaluating their opponent, and then both of them turned and ran.

At first, the man didn't follow.  He seemed to laugh, and then quite suddenly, he seemed to melt into the shadows.  Both of the men on the rooftop looked at each other and began to trail the kids.  Something more than meets the eye was up here, and no matter how much weed those kids were trying to sell, neither of the nocturnal vigilantes thought that they deserved what they suspected was coming.

The pair of hoodlums stopped after about five minutes.  Robin was about to shout for them to keep going, but then the clapping started.  Sarcastic, cocky clapping that seemed to echo through the alley, and then the strange man waltzed out of the shadows, a small pack of demonic looking wolves following him.  Robin raised his brows in surprise, but Batman's eyes grew as wide as headlights.  "We need to help them."

"Who is it," Robin asked, squinted to get a better look.

"Dracula," Batman returned, taking Robin by surprise.

"What?"  Just then, the hoodlums started to run again, and the wolves began leaping up to the roof.  Batman and Robin were forced to flee in the same direction as the hoodlums, all the while trying in vain to hit the wolves that were now chasing them with Batarangs.  The man gave chase on the ground, looking as if this couldn't be anything more than an annoyance to him.  Robin noted the sinister sneer as he closed the distance, and then everything stopped as a loud thud receded down the alley.

The loudmouth had fallen to the ground after being slammed into from behind by one of the wolves.  The fat one skidded to a stop a few feet away, but by the time he turned to help his friend, the loudmouth was being held up in the air by his collar.  The strange man didn't appear to be having any troubling holding the struggling loudmouth with one hand, which surprised Robin yet again.  The loudmouth called out to his friend, telling him to run.  At first it had no effect, and the loudmouth made a desperate plea for his friend to do as he was told.  It didn't look as if the fat one – whose name was Bob, apparently – was going to do it until his eyes widened.  He was no more surprised than the young vigilante on the roof.

The unmistakable sound of screeching bats was coming closer.  Bob turned and ran, a lone wolf chasing after him.  He made it into what appeared to be a diesel truck and managed to slam the door just before the wolf slammed into it.  A second later and he'd have been wolf food.  It was then that the vigilantes noticed that Bob was crying, and their hearts went out to him.  He pulled out with the screeching of tires, and the two nocturnal heroes turned their attention back to the strange man.

"I guess you're right," Robin replied, his tone morbid.  They were watching the man drain the loudmouth of blood.  He stopped halfway through; to feed the poor kid some of his own blood, before finishing the job.  "He really _is_ Dracula."  With a sneer, Dracula threw the boy, dead but quickly opening his eyes, to the ground.  Then he turned and smirked right up at Batman.

Robin immediately ducked back into the shadows, but Batman wasn't so lucky.  A wolf that had hidden on a rooftop above them smacked into him, and he fell and landed right in front of the man.  Something was said, but Robin couldn't hear it.  He figured Batman was down there whooping on the undead creep.  Deciding it was safe to go for a peek, he saw Batman trying like hell to get the man – Dracula – into a corner.  It wasn't working.  Instead, Dracula was barely putting effort into dodging the well-trained vigilante's attacks, asking where the boy was.  Eventually, he said, he'd get tired of asking.

Unfortunately for Batman, eventually came too soon.

With an exasperated sigh, the cane sword was brought up and in one vicious motion slashed horizontally, catching Batman right in the throat.  The masked man wasn't decapitated, but his throat was rather savagely slit.  Dracula appeared to find some distaste in the sight of his blood, turned away, and with a wave of his hand, began walking.  The wolves and bats came with him.

Robin couldn't believe it.  He was waiting for Batman to get up, reveal the fake blood capsules that he'd used to fool Dracula, and then discuss strategy.  So he flipped down into the alley, landing in a crouch near his mentor's body.  Then, he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, after half the night had already died away, Dick Grayson got up the courage to reach out and feel for his mentor's pulse.  The results, alas, were less than pleasing.

Batman wad dead.  Robin found himself crying until early morning, holding the body of his mentor – no, his father – in an embrace.  Finally, Dick got up, a haunted look in his eyes.  He picked up Batman's body and, using rooftops, delivered the body to Commissioner Gordon.  The elderly man had tried to speak to Robin, to comfort him, but Robin would have none of it.

Now was when Robin yelled.  He screamed, bellowed, shrieked, yelped, and cried.  He cursed in every language he knew – two, English and French – and went through the list, calling Dracula each and every name on it.  He left the office swearing that he would get his revenge, and that from this point on, Gotham would need a new protector.

Because he was no longer cut out for protecting.

AN:  So, what do you think?  Like?  Don't like?  Please R&R, and remember:  This is just the prologue.  WAAAAY more to come, including revealing the rest of the line-up for the League.  Thankies.


	2. The First Domino

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

**Dreams of the Damned**

**Chapter One**

**The First Domino….**

"So, if you dig deep enough," explained a very well dressed professor, to a class full of students.  He had planned to hurry this up so he could get back to his field work, but apparently, fate was not with him.  There was a loud knock at his door, followed by an FBI and British Intelligence agent striding into the room.

"Mr. Indiana Jones," the FBI agent intoned monotonously.

"Yes," Indiana returned.  "What's this about?"

"Come with us, please," returned the British agent

"First you tell me what this is about," Indy replied, "or I'm not going anywhere."

"Sir, this is a matter of the utmost importance," began the British officer.

"In other words, Mr. Jones, we would like you to come with us voluntarily, but we do have the authority to arrest you and force you to come with us if you so choose."

"Ooookay, guess I'll go with you then," Indy replied, after a brief pause.  "Class, just…take some notes."  After he was more or less verbally dragged outside, he stopped dead in his tracks and said, "Alright, now what's going on?"

"We're from a small group called the Coalition, Mr. Jones," began the FBI agent, like an automaton.

"We're here to recruit you for a certain purpose," continued the British officer.

"This purpose is…what?"  Indy was beginning to get impatient…he was itching for something to occupy his hands.

"To save the world, Mr. Jones."  Indy's eyebrows rose so high they almost rocketed off his head.

"Alright, who put you up to this," Jones grumbled, glaring at the two of them.  "Though that was a very good accent," he stated, jabbing a finger at the British officer.  "You should be an actor."  The two stayed completely devoid of any expression or emotion whatsoever.  "You guys…you guys are serious, aren't you?"

"Yes, we are, Mr. Jones," returned the British officer.

"Why me?  I'm just a guy, not one of those super powered people, not like the big green guy."  The FBI agent quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh really?  How long have you been thirty-nine, Mr. Jones?"

"…That's beside the point."

"Sir, please, if you'd just come with us, we could make this go as quickly as possible," the FBI agent began.

"If you really need motivation, though," the British officer cut-in, "then let me just say this:  We know where the Fountain of Youth is.  You could too."

"I'm in," Indy said instantly.  "Just let me go get my gear."  The British officer smirked at the FBI agent.

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"Mr. Jones," rang out a voice from the darkness of a conference room stocked with books and pictures.  "Welcome, welcome."

"Mind turning up the lights," he responded.  "I've learned not to trust voices that I can't see."  There was a chuckle, and then the lights began to grow brighter, until they were a normal intensity for a room this size.  Indy couldn't believe who he saw standing there.  "James Bond?!"

"Quite, Mr. Jones," Bond returned.  "I'm to be the man you're reporting to in this endeavor."  He walked up behind a chair near the middle of the left side of the table and gripped its back, leaning on it a bit.  "Please, sit.  You'll be meeting three of your teammates here and then together you'll be heading off to recruit the rest."  Indy did take a seat on his side of the table, but then his head shot up as the last few words registered in his mind.

"Team?"

At that point both heads turned as footfalls turned a corner and came to a stop in the room.  Indy recognized the person standing there, as did the person.  "Silent Bob," Indy said, nodding in greeting.  Bob inclined his head in a similar manner.  "I'd heard that you were a thug."  Bob glared, indicating that he'd prefer a less derogatory title.

"Yes," Bond returned.  "I know, you work alone.  I don't blame you.  But unfortunately, that isn't possible.  So," he replied, sliding a few files across the table, "perhaps you'd like to get to know your teammates?"

"Yeah," came a rough voice from behind Indy, "gotta get to know us sometime, right?"  Indy turned his head to search for the source of the voice and then stood up when realizing there was no way the voice could be talking.  "Hey.  This way big guy, thiiis way."  Both Bob and Indy were searching around them now for the source of the voice, Bob with his right hand on the handle of his baseball bat, ready to draw at a moments notice.  "Riiiiiight HERE.  There.  Can you see the floating coat, now?  Good.  Watch."  In the blink of an eye, the coat was filled with a fully clothed person.  "Darian Fawkes, Invisible Man."

"Invisible Man," Indy breathed, and Bob appeared to be shocked.

"Oh, yeah," Darian replied, tossing a glance to Bob, "_you_'ve dealt with angels and demons that were going to negate all existence, and," his head swiveled, this time looking at Indy, _you_'ve run from big giant boulders, dodged priests, priestesses, and Nazis, yet you're so shocked to hear technology has the ability to make a guy like me into the Invisbile Man."

"Touché," Indy stated, to which Bob nodded his agreement.  "So, what's your story," Indy asked Darian.

"A long one," Darian replied, lifting a glass of vodka to his lips.  "Short version:  I was a thief.  I had the unlucky break of falling on an old lady just before the cops kicked in the door."  He took a swig and winced very slightly at the burning in his throat.  "You can imagine what they thought I was doing," he stated wryly.  "Anyway, I was gonna get life.  Not something I was particularly looking forward to, so when this FBI type came to me and said that I could get out of it, I jumped at the chance.  Turns out, I ended up being my brother's guinea pig for his newest little military toy.  It's a gland that secrets this Quicksilver stuff.  It bends light to make me look invisible."

"Bends light," Indy asked, intrigued.

"Hell, don't ask me.  _I'm_ not the scientist."  There was a pause, and Bond coughed politely.  "Right, right.  The Quicksilver Madness."

"Quicksilver Madness," Indy asked.

"Yeah," Darian replied, drawing out the last part as he rubbed the back of his neck.  "See, when I go invisible too much, the Quicksilver messes with my head.  See this tattoo, back here?"  He turned and pulled the collar of his jacket down so that Indy and Bob could see the snake devouring its own tail tattooed on the back of his neck.  "It's green now, but the more Quicksilver I use, the more red it gets.  If the entire tattoo goes red, then so do my eyes, and I end up being a very not nice guy."  He turned back around and lifted something out of his pocket.  "This is a medicine that can keep it from happening.  As long as I inject this stuff before I lose it, I'm fine.  The snake'll go green again and everything will be peachy."  Darian dropped the medicine back into his coat pocket.  "So, you've heard my story.  I know yours, Indiana Jones, famous archeologist."  Darian and Indy both turned their heads to look at Silent Bob, but Bond shook his head.

"Later, I'm afraid," Bond stated.  "There's one other member coming, and then we'll be able to collect the other two."  As if on cue, the doors swung open, and in walked a very pale woman with black hair down to about mid-neck.  She wore tight fitting leather clothing, all in black, and large, gothic looking, platform knee-high boots.  Over that, she wore a long black coat much like Darian's, though without as many buttons.  Guns littered her person, and she looked quite calm and ok with that.  "Mr. Fawkes, Mr. Jones, and Mr…ah, well, Bob…I'd like you to meet Selene.  Selene, your teammates."  She gave them all a curt nod.

"Selene…you're," Indy began, trailing over her file until he got to a certain word.  "You're a _vampire_?!"  Bob didn't appear to have any reaction to the word, though something swam across his eyes for a moment.  "Vampires _exist_?"

"You have before you an invisible man and you yourself are forever young," Selene responded.  "Is it such a stretch of the imagination?"

"No," Indy mumbled, taken aback, "I suppose not."  He glanced at a few of the pictures, and then said, "I guess your husband…Michael, won't be joining us?"

"No," she responded coldly.  "Michael has been dead for years."

"Oh."  Indy paused.  "I'm sorry."  Darian and Bob nodded their agreement.

"Don't be.  He wouldn't want me to brood, and I'm not."  Indy understood then why she was there.  Not only for her vampiric gifts, of which she had a few, more than she had originally let on it seemed, but she was incredibly strong and resilient as well.  Indy thought that those last two were the real reasons she was here, and the vampiric gifts were just a plus.  "When are we getting started?"  She seemed to have at least some understanding of what it was that they were doing.

"As soon as the four of you are ready to leave," Bond returned.  "Bob will be providing transportation, both to the next member and for the rest of the journey."  Selene turned to Bob then, giving him a look that appeared to weigh and measure him, and she nodded.

"Alright.  Lead the way."

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It was raining when they got outside, and Indy held up an umbrella to cover the heads of his companions.  Darian muttered some form of thanks and Selene nodded.  Bob was walking slightly ahead; apparently uncaring that he was being drenched with rain.  They saw before them a car that looked a lot like a van would, if it had been souped up and made into a hot-rod/van combo.  "Weed-mobile," was all Bob said before slipping into the passenger seat, even as a man outfitted in comic-book ensemble opened the doors for the others.

"Call me Brody," the thin man said, before walking around and getting behind the wheel.  Selene slipped in first, followed by Darian, and then Indy last, who closed the door.  There were seats inside, and stereos.  If there had ever been weed in here, the bags had been cleaned out, though Selene thought she could detect slight hints of the aroma.  They pulled away from the unmarked building that the meeting had been held at, not noticing the boy with a long, dark jacket watching them pull away, and following leisurely behind them.  There was a flash of a yellow letter on the right breast as he walked, but it was gone too soon to see what it said.

"So, how did Bond get you," Darian asked Indy.

"Supposedly, his little group knows where the Fountain of Youth is," Indy returned testily.  "I want to know, too."  Darian nodded and turned to Selene.  She remained silent, and then waved him off.  Darian let his eyebrows rise slightly, and then leaned back as she leaned forward.

"You're a bit testy, Mr. Jones."  Now it was Indy's turn to lean forward, looking into Selene's eyes a moment before leaning back and looking out the window.  "Perhaps it's all those books you've judged merely by looking at their covers."

"I've had women along on expeditions before," he stated.  "I found that, while they were helpful, they ended up being a distraction."

"Do I distract you, Mr. Jones?"  At this point, Bob looked back, sensing the tension in the back of the car.  Darian held his breath, afraid that one of the two in the back would strike out, and he certainly didn't want to be in the way when either of them did.  Instead, Indy merely leaned forward and glared intently at Selene.

"I've been left by enough lovers," he stated plainly.  "I don't need any more."  Bob glanced out his window then and Brody stopped the car.  Bob got out and opened the door for his teammates, and they slid out.

"Should I bring it around," Brody asked.  Bob merely shook his head before moving to stand with Indy and Darian, while Selene took one glance at the house before them and paused in her tracks.  Indy knocked on the door three times, and soon after, it swung open a tiny bit to reveal a pale man, with two scars running down one side of his face, one starting at his forehead, a bit above the right eye, and ending near his mouth.  The other ran down the corner of his eye, and then one final scar appeared to be a duplicate of the longer one, only on his left eye.  Scars came from the corners of his mouth as well, looking quite like an ironic, sad smile.  He was a bit above average height, perhaps five foot eleven, with short, straight brown hair and large muscles.  His clothing had several holes in it, with a gray undershirt peeking out above the collar of a ratty gray sweater.  He looked to be wearing prison overalls, the top ripped wide down to his waist.  Heavy boots adorned his feet, and a long trench coat, with a furry collar, was wrapped around it all.  At this point, Indy was used to oddities, so he didn't have too much of a reaction when he saw this man.

"Mr. Alex Corvis," the explorer asked.

"Yes."  The man, or boy, really, nodded.

"I'm from Mr. Bond-"

"I already told Mr. Bond that I'm not interested," he responded, and began to shut the door.

"Alex," came Selene's soft voice as she strode through the four men, coming to a stop just next to Indy.

"Selene," was his rather shocked, if subdued, response.  "Well…come in, then."  He opened the door wide enough to allow the group entrance, and they headed up the stairs.

No one saw the boy from before, long coat hiding anything underneath now, slipping in as well.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The five of them entered Alex's home, an abandoned strip club that was once owned by D.E.R.T.  There were a serious of secret hallways and rooms here as well, where the dirty cops would run an internet porn business and a room up at the top where they would sit and count the money from their prostitution ring.  There was a back entrance to that room, and therefore to the rest of the building, that Alex had never bothered to seal up.  "So," Alex began, "I guess one of you knows why Bond wants us all together?"  Bob nodded, and Selene began to speak, but then a strong, though young, voice rang out.

"I do."  Indy had his gun out before anyone could blink, while Darian had instantly gone invisible.  Selene had drawn two pistols from within her coat, Bob had reached for his baseball bat, and Alex was suddenly holding a long knife.  From the shadows came a boy covered in a long coat, his head down.  He paused there for a moment and then his head shot upright as he flung his coat off and to the ground.  Eyes widened around the room as they saw that Robin, the Boy Wonder, stood before them…though Indy and Darian both smirked at the fact that he'd replaced his leggings with camouflage pants.  Weapons were gradually put back, and Alex then sat down in a comfy chair near the pole, looking bored.  "So, I guess you're all wondering just what's going on," he said, and then paused.  "Well, except for Bob."  The rest of the group cast a curious glance at Bob, who merely stood with his arms crossed, silent as always.

"Actually," Selene stated, "I know, as well."  Robin hadn't really noticed her, at first, but now that he did, he had to stop himself from automatically going into "flirt mode."  Given the gravity of the situation, it wasn't too hard, and he returned to the task at hand.  "But you can explain it," she replied, sitting on a table not too far from where Darian was pouring himself a glass of vodka.

"Help yourself," Alex called over to him.  Darian smirked and gave Alex a nod of thanks.

"Well," Robin began, sounding a bit annoyed that the scarred man and the guy in the coat didn't appear to be taking this seriously.  "It started the night of May 19th.  Batman and I were on the rooftops, though for the past few days, we'd had pretty boring nights.  It was odd really, considering that a lot of the criminals from Arkham had escaped."  He paused in thought at this for a moment before shaking his head and continuing.  "Well, we saw Bob and his partner Jay partaking in a business venture," he quirked an eyebrow at that, and Bob smirked before nodding for Robin to continue, "and the guy they were trying to sell to decided to get violent.  He smacked Jay in the face pretty hard, and Jay went reeling.  It looked like Bob was going to stand up for him, but then the guy pulled out this cane sword and they both ran.  We watched as the guy just kind of…melted into the shadows before following after Jay and Bob.  Batman looked spooked, but I was just confused.  Well, anyway, we saw that Jay and Bob had stopped, and for a second I figured they'd lost the guy.  Batman still looked spooked, and sure enough, the guy just came waltzing out of the shadows, clapping his hands like they'd done some great thing.  The spooky thing was, there were these wolves following him.  Then Jay and Bob REALLY ran, and this time, the guy followed, his wolves taking the rooftops and forcing Batman and I to run in the same direction as Jay and Bob.  We could see this big diesel truck that the two of them seemed to be running to, but then a wolf leapt off one of the roofs and knocked Jay down.  The guy was on him in a second, lifting him into the air by the collar with one hand."

"One hand," Darian interrupted, and Bob nodded angrily before waving a hand for him to be quiet so Robin could finish.

"Jay told Bob to run, and after a couple more tries, it worked.  Bob ran, and was almost wolf food.  After he pulled out, Batman and I saw the guy bite Jay on his throat.  At that point, I had to admit that Batman was right.  It really _was_ Dracula we were looking at."

"Dracula," Darian gasped, shooting up.  "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a second!"  Bob grabbed him and forcibly sat him back down.  Robin nodded his thanks before going on with his story.

"Bob, I'm really sorry, but…Dracula made Jay into a vampire.  I ducked into the shadows to avoid a wolf, but Batman wasn't quick enough and got knocked off the roof.  He landed right in front of Dracula.  I heard voices saying things, and after a while, I got up the courage to come out of the shadows and look at what was going on.  Batman was fighting like hell to get Dracula into a corner.  Dracula kept asking where I was and dodged Batman's attacks easily.  He said that eventually he'd get tired of asking."  Robin's voice was escalating in intensity and volume by the second now, and his eyes were burning with rage.  "Eventually came too soon for Batman.  Dracula slashed him across the throat and left him for dead.  He was."  That was it.  Robin clamped his jaw shut, his fists clenched.  No one moved for a second, and then Bob walked over and put a hand on Robin's shoulder.  Bob knew what Robin was going through, having lost Jay that same night.  After a moment, the anger began to fade from Robin's features, and he nodded his thanks to Bob.  "Bond got you guys together to fight him."  Silence descended upon the group until, quite suddenly, men carrying assault rifles appeared on the balconies, and from out of the hidden hallway came a twisted, sick voice that Robin instantly recognized.

"Riddle me _this_, Bird boy:  What has two wings and is dumb enough to fly _right_ _into_ a glass door?"  Before anyone could respond, Edward Nigma sauntered out of the hidden hallway, in full Riddler garb once again.  His long, metal staff, topped with a question mark, made soft tapping sounds on the ground.  "That's right:  **YOU**!"  The maniac squealed with delight and clapped his hands together.  "Well, lookey what we have here."

"First meetings," Indy stated boldly, "normally mean somebody's got to introduce themselves."

"Fair enough," the Riddler replied.  "I'm Riddler.  You're the…oh, what a name…League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."  The Riddler couldn't help laughing at that.  "Joker was right, that _is_ a pathetic name!"

"Joker," Robin exclaimed, surprised.

"Yeeees," Riddler replied.  "Awww, you didn't think we'd just turned over new leaves, now did you, bird boy?"  He paused, and then said, "Oh, Indy.  I'm crazy, not blind.  Drop the gun."  Indy paused for a moment before doing as he was told.  The Riddler pointed with his staff at the far wall, and Indy kicked it over there.  Robin kept his eyes on it as it skittered across the floor and very slowly, very carefully began sliding a Batarang into his hand.  None of the others moved, though Darian tensed and made ready to become invisible at a moments notice.  Indy glanced at Robin, saw what he was doing, and winked at him.  Robin winked back, and then Indy looked back at Riddler.  "What?  Do I have something in my teeth?"  Robin flew into action, flinging the Batarang at the Riddler's head, aiming for a kill.  Riddler dodged as gunfire erupted throughout the room.  Selene drew her pistols and ducked for cover, firing at a few of the men on the balconies.

Alex didn't bother dodging, knowing the bullets meant absolutely nothing to him.  Instead, he spied men coming out of the hidden hallway and engaged them instead, slashing and thrusting with his knife.  The first man fell with a stab wound to the head and another dropped the gun he was toting to grab his suddenly bleeding arm instead.

Indy had taken the opportunity presented by the Riddler's moment of inattention to grab his whip from his side, and he now used it to bring the gun back to him.  That done, he noticed that the Riddler was getting away the same way he'd come in.  He shot one of the men on the balcony before spinning and giving chase.

Robin had launched his grappling hook the moment the gunfire started, and he now stood on the balcony, dispatching soldiers whose weapons weren't all that useful in close combat.  He'd taken down three of them when he heard the cracking of Indy's whip stopping.  He spared a glance over to him to see the Riddler slip out the same way he'd come in, and Indy following him.  Robin knew the balcony was connected in the same way as the first floor, so he took off down that way, punching, kicking, or flinging Batarangs at any soldiers that got in his way.

Darian had immediately made himself invisible.  That done, he grabbed a pair of handcuffs that had quite obviously been left by a stripper near the pole, getting an idea of how to use them almost immediately.  He broke the chain on the cuffs and flipped them open, one in each hand.  He then let the open end poke out between his middle and ring fingers, like claws.  He began using them in just that way, tearing the faces or bodies of soldiers he ran into.

Bob strode forward, standing in between two groups of men with assault rifles.  "Get your gun," one of them growled.  "I hate killing unarmed idiots."  Bob merely shook his head, and then his baseball bat was out, knocking the gun up and out of the soldier's hands.  Bob slammed a kick into the soldier's gut and brought his steel bat crashing down on the soldier's baldhead.  He went down instantly, his arm jerking once and then his body moved no more.  He ducked as one of the soldiers behind him leveled his gun and then he swept his foot out, tripping the soldier up.  Then came the bull rush that bowled through the soldiers, knocking them off balance.

Selene ducked out from behind her cover, firing six shots, each finding the head of their intended target.  She saw that the soldiers Bob had rushed into were regaining balance and shot two of them, leaving Bob with the last two to handle.  She ducked behind Alex's chair to reload before realizing that Robin was no longer covering this portion of the balcony.  She bolted out from behind the chair, running towards the balcony.  She flipped up and onto it easily, landing in a crouch that she immediately sprang out of and began firing.

Indy was following the Riddler through the narrow hallway at the back, Robin flinging Batarangs from the walkway above.  Indy had almost closed the distance when an unarmed soldier leapt out from the shadows.  Robin continued to follow the Riddler, while Indy was forced to stop and deal with the soldier.  He holstered his gun and leaned back to dodge a sloppy left hook.  He saw his opportunity then and ducked in, slamming three or four body punches home.  The soldier stumbled back but recovered quickly, coming at Indy with a much less sloppy jab that he wasn't able to avoid.  It was softer than Indy had expected, though, so it didn't do too much damage, and it left the man open for a strong jab to the head that sent him reeling.  Indy followed it up with a kick to the stomach and finished the fight with an uppercut that sent the soldier into the air briefly.  "Now, where'd the boy get to," he mumbled.

Robin had continued to run after Riddler, tossing Batarang after Batarang.  In the end, his aim was off, because none of them hit.  He chased the Riddler all the way to the secret door, which was really just a window, but couldn't.  He swore and looked out, to see an unmarked car speeding off, with no sign of the Riddler.  Another expletive passed his lips as he began making his way back towards the main room, where the sounds of battle had ceased.

Robin must have looked glum indeed when he entered, because Alex shook his head and stated, "Don't worry, he won't get away.  He went tearing out of the city, but I don't know where he was headed."

"How could you know that," Robin asked, and then they heard the cawing of a crow.  The ebon bird landed on Alex's shoulder and he smirked.  "You can…see through the bird's eyes?"  Alex grinned and the bird cawed, and Robin noticed Alex's bullet wounds were healing on their own.  "What…what are you?"

"I'm complicated, Alex returned.

"Ugh, you always were melodramatic," Selene groaned, rolling her eyes.  Alex grinned briefly before wiping his bloody knife on the uniform of a dead soldier and then making it disappear up his sleeve.  "So, Robin, perhaps you'd like to tell us why you're here," Selene asked, and all eyes turned to him.

"I want to join you," he responded.

"I don't have a problem with it," Indy replied.

"Me neither.  The kid can hold his own," Darian added.

"Another fighter is always useful," Selene put in.

Bob gestured at Robin and then nodded his approval.

It all came down to Alex.  Would the apparently immortal being say yes or no to the addition of the young, eager hero?  "Welcome aboard," the immortal replied.

"You're in," Indy stated, and Robin smiled very slightly.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The League was exiting the building, moving towards the docks, off to the left of Alex's home.  "Now, there's one more member to recruit," Indy stated.

"Capture is more like it," Darian replied wryly.

"Capture," Robin asked, confused.

"Yes…he's more like an savage beast than a man," Selene explained.

"Where is he," Robin asked.

"South America, in the jungle.  There's a war going on down there, and supposedly, he just comes out of the trees and smashes things," Indy explained.  

"How are we getting there," Robin asked, stopping when he realized Bob, who had been the one leading them, had stopped at the end of a pier.  There was nothing there.  "By boat?"

Bob smirked and crossed his arms, and a huge diesel truck rose up out of the water.  It was ENORMOUS, at least the size of three RVs.  "The Sword," Bob stated proudly.

"A diesel truck," Darian asked.  "We're sailing across the sea in a _diesel truck_?"  Almost as if on cue, ramps dropped from the sides, and the rest of the League saw that inside was what appeared to be a well-stocked house.

Robin's brows rose in shock.  "Whoa."  Bob grinned and nodded.  "So," Robin asked, as the Sword began to sidle its way closer to the pier, "who is this guy that we have to capture?"

"He's a big guy, has to be at least nine feet tall," Indy replied.

"He couldn't way less than a ton," Selene added.

"How do people _not_ see something like this coming from a mile away," Robin asked, stepping up onto one of the Sword's ramps, confused yet again.

"He's the same color as the trees," Darian explained, following him.

AN:  Well, there you have it.  I trust you all know who the final Leaguer is, right?  If not, shame on you!  As far as whether killing Batman is against the rules or not…*points at comics, wherein Bane broke Batman's back and Batman passed on the mantle of the bat to a reformed assassin, who turned the suit into high-tech armor stocked full of lethal goodies*  If they can do that, and make it good (which they did, I give DC credit for that) then killing him is okay, as long as it helps the story.  Hopefully my next update won't take too long, wherein the next Leaguer is captured and we have some nice character interaction.  As always, don't forget to R&R.


	3. Big

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

**Dreams of the Damned**

**Chapter Two**

**Big**

Robin was out on the conning tower that Silent Bob had built onto the top of The Sword.  Bob claimed it was a place to smoke up where the smell wouldn't coat everything, but for Robin, this was a place to think.  It was a place he could go to get away from it all and reminisce, or to just…be.  He'd discovered it soon after boarding The Sword, and had spent a good deal of time up here, staring at the water and thinking about Batman.

He'd been Robin's mentor for quite some time, and the pair had begun to take on a father/son relationship when he was killed.  For Robin, it was like that fateful night at the circus all over again, only this time someone much more powerful than Two-Face had brought about the death of his father.

So it was that on the third day of their journey to South America, Robin was leaning on the railing, gazing out at the water, when Selene wandered out.  She saw him standing there, staring at apparently nothing, but knew that he was looking at a sea of memory.  She moved closer and leaned on the railing herself, forearms supporting her weight, hands laced in front of her.

Little did she know that Robin had noticed her the moment she had set foot onto the tower.  She'd looked beautiful when he first met her, but now…now she was _gorgeous_.  The wind was blowing her hair behind her, whipping it about.  Her coat made a soft fluttering sound as it billowed slightly.  No sound was made other than that, at first.  Until, finally, Selene noticed he was staring.  "It's big, isn't it," she asked, her voice soft.

"Um…excuse me," Robin asked, eyes widening.  She let a small smile curl her lips, and Robin joined in uneasily a moment afterwards.

"That's better," Selene replied, turning and using her elbows to support her on the railing.  "What I meant," she continued, growing serious, "was the sea.  The sea of memories that I know you were looking at.  It's a vast ocean, isn't it?"  Robin looked away then, and went back to leaning on the railing.

"Yeah," he said, after a long moment.  "Yeah, it is…sometimes too big."

"I know how you feel," Selene returned, nodding her head slightly.  "You try to remember everything about him, everything that you know about him…and sometimes you can't.  You feel guilty for it, but no matter how hard you try, you can't remember everything."

"Yeah," Robin replied glumly.  "Sometimes I forget the first time we met.  That's when it's the worst."

"Yes," Selene nodded, "then it is the worst.  I've been there."  She turned now, leaning on one elbow.  The other was stretching out, as Selene reached out her hand to place it gently on Robin's shoulder.  "I know how you suffer, and I know by the nature of both yourself and the suffering, you want to do it alone…but you shouldn't.  Everyone here would listen if you wanted to talk…even Darian.  And Robin…you can admit how you feel about something that's said, too.  You're a member of this League just as much as Indiana or myself your opinion is valued.  Or if you just wanted to get it off your chest, how you feel-"

"I'm scared," Robin cut in suddenly.

"See, that's a start," Selene replied with a smile.  "What are you scared of?"

"Recruiting this last guy.  Indiana said it was too dangerous for anybody else, but he takes me with him?  Why?  Why not you, Alex, Darian, or Bob?  You all have way more experience dealing with things like this.  I was just Batman's sidekick."

"You underestimate yourself," she stated.  "I saw the way you handled the fighting in Alex's home.  You did well, a good mix of reflexes, speed, power, and wits.  You knew what you were doing, and you weren't going to let anyone get in your way."  They both saw the land quickly approaching, and Selene held up her hand to cut Robin off.  "Don't worry, you can do this.  Concentrate on the goal at hand, just like you did back there, and you'll do fine.  And Robin?"  He looked at her with a mix of curiosity and gratitude.  "Don't forget, Bob is grieving too."

"What about you," Robin returned.  "What about your husband, Michael?"  A wall of ice seemed to slide over Selene's features, and she turned and walked away, back down into The Sword, leaving Robin to verbally bash himself over the head.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Alright," Robin mumbled, shaking a damp bit of fallen leaf out of his hair, "I am _definitely_ not coming back here."  The Red Cross workers laughed good-naturedly at the boy, none moreso than the bearded one in the hat.  His brown eyes were filled with mirth, and he stepped forward.

"You just need to remember to bring a hat," he said, in perfect English.  Robin quirked an eyebrow at that, while Indiana Jones sized the man up.

He was skinny, definitely not the kind of guy that could defend himself if it became necessary to do so.  He was definitely intelligent, which he seemed to pride himself on greatly.  He was also American, something Indy found quite odd.  Oddly enough, he bore an odd sort of familiarity to Indy…almost as if he'd seen his face before.  "Excuse me, Mr…."  The man instantly took on a guarded look.

"Karter," he said evenly, "Michael Karter."

"So, you are American," Robin stated.

"Yeah," Karter returned.  "I came down here because the people need help."  He gestured to the shabby medical facility behind him.  "We're not doing much, obviously, but it's better than nothing."

"Karter, huh," Indy asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes," the man stated, beginning to sound agitated.  "What's the problem?"

"Oh, nothing," Indy replied, shaking his head and waving his hand.  "Nothing at all, sorry.  So, Dr. Karter, can you tell us anything about this large green thing that people have spotted throughout forests all across South America?"

"Nothing," Karter returned quickly.  Too quickly, Robin noted.  He knew something.  "Nothing at all.  Now, I think you should go, before-"  Just then there was the sound of a humvee grinding to a halt.  "Shit," Karter cursed, and then gestured for people to start hiding key medical supplies.  Several large, macho, army types stepped out of the vehicle, guns strapped to their person.  They began speaking in Spanish, and appeared to be arguing with Karter and glancing suspiciously towards the two of them.  Robin knew very little Spanish, but Indy was fluent, and translated for Robin softly.

"The one guy is saying that Karter needs to give up the medicine or pay for it with his life."  Indy paused to listen to Karter.  "Karter just said that they were just helping people."  Another pause, and then, "The loudmouth said that they were going to confiscate the supplies.  He wants Karter to tell them where they hid them."  Yet another pause, and then, "Karter said no, and – oh, shit."  The large man had just slammed the butt of his rifle into the head of a little girl, who promptly fell down and started crying.  He aimed the rifle at the little girl's head and then shouted, in broken English, that if anyone moved, the girl would become another casualty of war.  Robin immediately started to retrieve a Batarang, but Indy stopped him with a shake of his head.  "If you do anything, he'll shoot that girl dead."  Just then, Karter stepped up in front of the gun, blocking the little girl from view.

"You don't want to do that," he said in a calm, even tone, but with a current of suppressed rage running through it.  The man laughed and shoved Karter out of the way.  Karter merely got back up and stepped in front of the gun again.  His face was calm, but it almost appeared that he was distant, like he was detaching from the world.  It took Indy a second, but he noticed that Karter's eyes were glowing green.  "You're making me angry," Karter said, so quietly that Indy and Robin had to strain to hear it.  "You're not going to like me when I'm angry."

And then Karter let out an animalistic, feral roar.  It sounded far too deep to be his own voice, and he dropped to the ground, tried to push himself up, and fell again.  He began beating on the ground in a fury, even as his body shifted and changed.  His skin was slowly changing from pale flesh to bright green, muscles springing into existence from nowhere.  His hair was receding, changing into a dark green mop around a quickly devolving head.  His shirt ripped and shredded, shoes following shortly after.  The lower half of his pants ripped as enormous calf muscles grew, and the top half became inexorably tight as they stretched to suit his tree trunk legs.  His brow sloped forward, jaw squared.  It almost looked Neanderthal in appearance; only Indy doubted that Neanderthals were nine-foot tall green monstrosities with enormous muscles and green eyes.  The beast stood up and considered the man in front of him, who was no longer laughing.  Instead, the man shot him, and the beast, known as the Hulk, looked at it in disinterested.  The wound healed, and Hulk swatted the soldier away before he could get in another shot.  The man flew back ten feet, smacked into a tree, and broke his spine, the crack of bone mixing with the crack of the tree as it split down the middle.

Then the screaming started, as Hulk began smashing his way through the military types.  He picked up the humvee and bellowed like an angry gorilla before throwing it up and over the trees.  He then turned to look at the odd newcomers, but his attention was drawn to the frightened girl that had been hit with the gun.  She was still crying, and was very much afraid of the green giant that was standing in the midst of the people she'd grown to know and love.  Hulk walked over to her and gently scooped her up before turning and giving her to her parents.  "Hulk not hurt girl," the jade giant stated plainly, before turning on the newcomers.  He cocked his head, as if considering them a moment, before leaping into the trees and taking off through them.  Indy pulled out his gun and gave chase, Robin a step behind, two Batarangs already in his hand.  He was throwing like crazy, trying to knock the goliath out of the trees.  Indy smirked at the boy when he had to pause to grab another Batarang and shook his head.  "Just keep chasing him," he stated.  "Don't worry, we know what we're doing, right Robin?"  Without waiting for a response, Indy took off after the beast, firing his gun at branches just below the feet of the giant.

It wasn't too soon before Hulk found out the reason behind Indiana Jones' infernal calm.  He stepped on a branch, prepared to keep running, when there was a deafening crack, and the branch fell away, part of it having been sawed through to weaken it earlier.  Hulk landed hard on his back, and Indy gave the signal to Robin.  Robin instinctively knew what to do, grabbing one of the Bat-Nets and throwing it over the green giant.  The net was connected to a rope that was attached to a winch on The Sword, and it proceeded to whip Hulk back and into The Sword.  "Welcome aboard, Hulk," Indy mumbled, an amused tone in his voice.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Selene hadn't argued with Indy when he'd stated that the mission was too dangerous for anyone except Robin.  She hadn't understood it, but she hadn't argued it.  Nor had Darian, Bob, or Alex for that matter.

So it was that when the entire ship began to shake, Selene understood it was the "game" bagged on the mission.  She left her quarters to investigate, and met Darian and Alex along the way.  "Seems like the explorer's nailed his treasure," Darian stated when he saw Alex.  Just then, the three of them saw Brody come flying out of the room and slamming into the wall.

"Or the treasure nailed him," Alex returned, eyes wide.  With a smirk, Alex gestured for her to go first.  She rolled her eyes and entered, though nearly stopped in her tracks once she laid eyes on Hulk.

The monster was chained up, but for some ungodly reason, there was slack in the chains, and the huge green giant was using it to his advantage, swiping at Bob any time the man came close enough.  Bob would just jump back, while Indy stood in one place, just out of Hulk's reach.  Robin, she noted, was well to the left and well out of reach.  Selene smiled and walked over to stand by him, while Alex and Darian chatted amongst themselves.

"Hulk," Indy called out suddenly, when it looked like the monster was beginning to brood.  "I've got a message for you."  Hulk seemed rather uncaring, truthfully.  "From Betty."  Hulk's head snapped upright, and his eyes were wide.

"Betty," questioned the beast in his deep, unearthly voice.

"She wants your help, Hulk.  We're after a man called Dracula.  You know about him?"  Hulk sniffed the air for a moment and then pointed at Selene.

"Like her."  Selene raised her eyebrows, and then smirked slightly when she noticed Robin starting to interpose himself between the monster and her person.

"Right, he's a vampire."  Indy shrugged and continued, "Here's the thing:  We're after him, and we need your help."

"What in it for Hulk?"

"Besides clearing your name," Indy asked.  "Don't forget, you haven't heard the message from Betty yet."

"Tell."

"The message is this:  Help me.  Dracula's kidnapped her, Hulk.  The only way you can get to her is by working with us."

"Hulk is in," Hulk growled, and then sniffed the air.  His eyes fell on Robin.  "Don't be afraid."

"Who said I was afraid," Robin returned uneasily.  Within seconds, Hulk had ripped a chain free and swung it around, nearly decapitating both Selene and Robin.  At the last second, Robin had grabbed Selene and thrown both of them down on the floor.

"Hulk smell it," was all that he said.  The monster seemed to be calming down.  Quite suddenly, he began spasming and writhing around, shrinking and losing muscle mass in the process.  His skin was returning to the color of pale flesh, and gradually, his eyes lost the green glow.

Finally, after the last spasm, the man that had introduced himself as Michael Karter stood before them, holding his pants up so they wouldn't fall.  "Hi," he said nervously.  "I'm Bruce Banner.  I'll help you."

"The League is set," Indy said, smiling slightly.  Bob seemed to be thinking about something, and then shook his head.  Indy cocked an eyebrow, but Darian nodded.

"Bob's right," the ex-thief stated.  "There was this one file you never got around to looking at."

"Did anybody notice it," Robin asked.

"I did," Selene stated.  "In passing.  It had a large Z on the tab, just like the other folders had the first letter of each of our names."

"Z?"  Indiana Jones knew of only one man useful in this situation with a name that began with Z.  "How in the hell are we going to recruit _him_?"

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"You're kidding," Jones groaned, looking at a webcam screen with James Bond's face on it.

"I joke, Mr. Jones, but not about this," returned the British man.

"So…he's alive?  How?"

"You're mythical fountain, Mr. Jones."  Jones was on his feet in a heartbeat.

"He knows where it is?  What?  How?  When?"

"Which question should I answer first," James responded, smirking.  Indy was about to return with a bitter retort when James rode on overtop of him.  "Take it easy, Mr. Jones.  I can't tell you much, just that he lives in Mexico, in the manor of his old master."

"You're telling me," Jones began, "that Alejandro Murrieta, Zorro, somehow found the Fountain of Youth and took a drink?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Mr. Jones.  I'm glad we understand each other.  Good day, and happy hunting."  The screen died before Jones could ask any further questions.  Silence descended on the room for all of three seconds, and then Indy uttered a curse and left the room.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

A day and a half later, Indiana Jones, Darian, and Alex stood at the door of the old de la Vega manor.  It looked rather shabby at the moment, as if whoever was living there had long since fallen into uncaring apathy.  Indy had knocked three times already, and was ready to knock again, when finally the door swung open, and Alejandro Murrieta, looking no older than he had when he first donned the mantle of Zorro, stood in the door, wearing a blue Polo shirt, faded khaki pants, and beat up sneakers.  "Mr. Alejandro Murrieta," Indy asked, and the man standing before them nodded.  Jones didn't want to believe at first, didn't want to believe that this dishelved mess of a man could be (or have been, as the case may be) the freedom fighter, Zorro.  His hair was long, unruly, and greasy, while his face looked like it hadn't seen a shave in years.  His body still looked as strong as ever, but the way he carried himself gave away the years of sadness he'd experienced.  "Hello, Mr. Murrieta, we're from Mr. James Bond-"

"Bond," he scoffed, and shook his head.  "No.  I am not interested.  Leave."  He started to close the door, but Alex stepped up and caught it with his forearm.  "Let go of my door."

"Mr. Murrieta," Alex said, "all we want at this time is a moment of yours.  Please, at least hear us out."  Murrieta opened his mouth to say no, but something in the young man's face (besides the scars) changed his mind.  He jerked his head in the general direction of "inside" and retreated back into his house, leaving the others to trail behind him.  Once inside, they could clearly make out the smell of alcohol, and they could also clearly see the bottle of liquor sitting on Alejandro's kitchen table.  He guided them all into a spacious den, grabbing the bottle of liquor off the table as he did so, and then took a seat, gesturing for them to do the same.  The three of them did, and then looked at one another a moment before Indy sat forward, elbows on knees, and began talking.

"Mr. Murrieta, James Bond and a Coalition made up of American and British officials are putting together a team to stop what may be the destruction of civilization as we know it."  Indy nodded to the bearded man sitting across from him.  "They want you to be a part of it."

"I am not Zorro any longer," Murrieta returned.

"That's just it," Darian returned, "we want you to be him again."

"What reason do I have to take up the sword?  You've seen this house, devoid of any love.  Why should I care whether civilization falls?"  This was the tricky part.  Indy had only one thing prepared for this, and he hated having to use it, but there was no other way.

"Honor," the explorer stated.

"Honor," Murrieta scoffed.  "What honor do you think I have?  There is nothing left of what you speak of for me."

"Not _your_ honor, Mr. Murrieta," Jones said softly.  "The honor of your instructor, mentor, and friend.  Don Diego de la Vega."

"What do you know of _that_," Murrieta shot back, his voice acid.

"I know," Jones began, even softer than before, "that his grave has been robbed of its most precious treasure:  His body."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The four of them stood at the former grave of Don Diego de la Vega.  It was torn up, and the body was, quite obviously, gone.  "Who…who has done this," Murrieta raged.  "I will…I will…!"

"What will you do, Mr. Murrieta," Alex asked softly.  "What will you do, with no information and nothing but your rage to go on?"  Murrieta was silent for a long time, and then finally, he turned to face them.

"Mr. Jones.  Who did this?"

"Do you want the blunt, short answer, or the longwinded explanation," the explorer asked.

"Short," Murrieta returned.

"Dracula."

"I see."

"Have you made your decision, Mr. Murrieta," Darian asked, for once being polite and respectful.

"Yes," he stated, heading determinedly towards the manor.  "Zorro rides again."  The Leaguers followed him back inside, where they witnessed him drastically shortening his hair and shaving off most of his long beard, leaving only a pointed goatee.  He then quickly retrieved the costume and dressed.  Finally, he buckled his sword belt to his waist and made a few test slashes with his rapier.  With a grin, he turned to his new teammates.  "I'm back."

"_Now_ you can say it," Darian said, turning to Indy with a grin.

"The League is set…again."

AN:  You like?  Well, there you have it, the League is ready to go.  Love it, hate it?  R&R, but no flames, please.


	4. Equalbut Opposite

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN

**Dreams of the Damned**

**Chapter Three**

**Equal…but Opposite**

AN:  Alrighty, just wanted to explain why the previous chapter or two bore so many similarities to the movie:  I wanted to show that history can and often does repeat itself, given the same variables.  However, with the recruitment of Zorro, I'm showing that not everything is the same, and that's also proven very, very well in this chapter.  Now, on with the show.

"You're sure this is the place," an old, shabbily dressed and unkempt looking man with white hair and a long white beard rasped.

"Sure I'm sure, now would ya just pipe down for a second," responded another voice, cockily.  It was tense, nervous perhaps.

"You really need to _lighten up_, there pal," began a voice recognizable as Edward Nigma's.

"Hey, back off psycho.  I'm doing the best I can here," responded the tense voice.  "Maybe if you didn't dress so loudly we'd all be able to concentrate."

"So says the guy in the white suit," rasped the old man.

"Both of you," came another elderly voice, this one far stronger than the white haired man's, "shut up NOW or I will kill you myself."  This voice had a definite Spanish accent.

"Hey, just because you're back from the dead doesn't make you the leader," responded the cocky voice.

"He's right," came a deep, unearthly voice belonging to a large, well-muscled black man.  "Though I just want to get in there and get this over with."

"Hey," responded the raspy old man, "it's the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen we're dealing with here!  Not a bunch of inexperienced _kids_!"

"Oh yeah, like _you_ should be talking about kids, Banner."

"Shut _up_, Nigma."

"_Both of you_," snarled a voice with a very distinct Egyptian caste, "shut up now!  Nothing from you either, Raze!  We do this _now_!  They are not ready, they will not know how to deal with us!"

"F_iii_nally, someone saying something _smart_ around here," sighed another voice, this one belonging to a scarred man in a police uniform.  "C'mon, let's get 'em, boys.  Remember, separately we've been defeated, but together…together, we can do great things."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Darian had been up on the conning tower when he'd seen the gathering.  They came out of an alleyway while everyone else was getting the ship ready to go.  He recognized the Riddler immediately, and guessed that the others were buddies of his by the way they were hanging around.  "Uh, guys…I think you might want to take a look at this," he called down loudly.

"What is it, Darian," Alex groaned, coming up to the tower and then stopping dead.  His eyes grew wide as he scanned the crowd, recognizing only one of the assembled gatherings.  The man that stood in the uniform of a decorated police captain, with scars like his own running down his face.  But the colors were inverted, this guy was ebon black were Alex was white, and white where Alex had scarring.  "Lazarus," he whispered, shocked.

Bruce was the next to make his way up.  He'd managed to procure a new shirt from Indiana, but as soon as he saw what Darian was talking about, he knew he would be losing it again.  For before him stood David Banner, his father, and the man was grinning like the maniacal son of a bitch he was.

Next up to join the apparently haunted gathering was Selene.  "Oh, you men and your melodramatics," she mumbled, shoving in between Alex and Darian.  She hissed suddenly and reached for her guns.  "Raze."

"Guys, do you think we could get back to work," Robin grumbled, stepping up next to Alex.  "I mean, seriously, what could be…so…important…nevermind."  He reached for a Batarang but held onto it, not yet knowing who the rest were and not wanting to chance setting anything off.

Bob came up next, silent as always, figuring that his new friends had a good reason to be lollygagging about up here.  Turns out, they were right.  He took the opposite side of Robin and was astounded to see a man he recognized almost immediately.  The man was in a white suit, with little, stubby horns poking out of the top of his head.  He had black hair and a malicious smirk on his face.  In his hand, he carried a golf club.  "Hiya, Bob.  Bet you didn't think you'd see you're old pal _Azrael_ again, did you," the man – no, demon – called up.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, what could be so damn interesting up here?"  Indy himself shoved his way through the group on the tower, upset that most of the League was up here being lazy instead of helping out.  He stopped in mid sentence and found his blood running cold when he spied a face he recognized from a story he'd heard once.  "Im Ho Tep…he's real?"

Finally, out came Zorro, who had by this point decided something was seriously amiss.  His hand was on the hilt of his rapier, ready to draw at a moments notice.  Which was good, because when he looked over the railing, he saw his former master, ex-Zorro, Diego de la Vega standing there…but with Dracula's mark on his forehead and an evil grin on his face.

As one, the League looked confused.  Villains they'd either heard of or defeated at some point were all standing in front of them – together – and that, to them, meant only one thing.

They had banded together.

"So," Azrael began, "I guess you guys are wondering why we're all standing here."

"Oh, heeeere it comes," Lazarus groaned, rolling his eyes.

"You're too melodramatic, Azrael," Raze quipped, though he did appear to be amused at the confused faces of the League.

"Just get on with it, fools," Im Ho Tep growled.  "We do not have all day."

"Oh, for the love of," David growled, "I'll handle this."  He stepped forward, while absorbing the pavement.  He began to grow and become the pavement, until a large fist slammed into the boat and rocked it backwards.  Bruce grabbed onto the railing and groaned.  "That's right Bruce, get angry.  Release your inner self.  I won't make the same mistake I did last time!"

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Meanwhile, Azrael smirked and glanced to Raze.  "Mind giving me a ride, big guy?"  Raze growled at him, but all the same, he flung away his clothes and transformed into his Lycan form.  Azrael was forced to grab onto Raze's large arm as the Lycan jumped, but they both made it onto the ship, so it wasn't too bad.  Selene opened fire immediately, while Bob ducked in and swung at Azrael, a white light glinting off of the steel bat.

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Im Ho Tep grinned as a wicked wind kicked up.  Indy found himself being knocked off balance by the strong gusts, and then completely blown off of the ship.  Im Ho Tep began to dissolve into sand and rise up like a wave, ready to smash down on the intrepid explorer when he got low enough to the ground…

…and then a large, green hand shot out and caught him.  Indy found himself being launched, as gently as Hulk could (which isn't much, mind you) THROUGH Im Ho Tep.  Indy rolled with the fall and immediately ducked behind the most readily available cover – a building.  "Okay…he can become sand.  I can handle sand.  Just so long as he can't become a snake.  THAT…would be bad."

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Robin flipped off of the boat, intending to land in a crouch and follow that up with a few swift Batarangs aimed for the Riddler's head…but instead, he found himself being smacked like a baseball by the Riddler's staff.  He grunted in pain and staggered back, though he had the presence of mind to bring up his guard.  Which was lucky, given the stiff kick Nigma tried to follow his swing up with.  Robin caught his foot and grinned before shoving him backward and then following that up with a rising kick of his own.

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Hulk, having saved his temporary benefactor, moved on to dealing with his scum of a father.  Sure, Hulk didn't think of it like that; in fact, his thoughts were more along the lines of "rock, smash" but the sentiment was there, nonetheless.  It seemed the elder Banner was having trouble removing his currently rock fist from the boat, so Hulk took this opportunity to leap onto it and start battering away.  He was having success, but what he didn't see was the maniacal grin that spread across the rocky face as David Banner began to absorb his son's energy and BECOME his own Hulk, of sorts.

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Selene growled at Raze.  "You'll pay for what you did to Michael."  Raze just roared in return, before charging forward.  Selene was definitely the most agile of the pair, so she was able to leap over the railing and down onto the streets of the Mexican city they'd docked at, but then Raze was on her, and she had to slam backwards into a wall to get him off.  She immediately spun and fired, hitting Raze with three regular AG rounds.  Raze roared at her, and Selene let her fangs drop down and return a hiss of her own.

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Bob and Azrael were locked in heated combat on the tower, feinting, blocking, thrusting, and slamming, each swing intended to bludgeon the other into death.  "This is what you get for fucking with a demon, moron!"  Bob merely curled his lips in a snarl before thrusting suddenly, slamming the top of his bat into Azrael's gut.  The demon staggered back, the wind knocked out of him, and Bob followed it up with a rising swing to the chin that sent Azrael toppling over the side of the tower.

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"So, my pupil, you've taken up with some new friends," de la Vega stated, smirking.  "I always thought you would drop into the wrong crowd.  I just never thought it would be as one of them."

"You are not my teacher," Zorro returned, choking up.  "You are a demon in his skin, and I will slay you!"  Zorro stepped forward, thrusting hard, but de la Vega dodged to the left easily, bringing his blade down to guard against another such attack.

"Oh, you will, will you," the elder of the two returned.  "Not with that sloppy technique.  I believe the drinking has gone to your head, my old friend."

"I do not know you," Zorro growled, slashing at a downward angle in a feint, spinning to the left to avoid the attack he had known would come, and then thrusting forward.  Diego dodged to the right, but gasped sharply as he found that he hadn't been quick enough to dodge the entire attack.  The cut was deep, but superficial, and would heal.

"Apparently not," Diego chuckled.  "I was under the impression I had taught you how to use that thing, but apparently, I was wrong."  He chuckled deeply and added, "You are still merely a child, Alejandro.  You are merely a child make believing he is the real thing."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Bob was about to follow Azrael down when he felt a hand grab his collar from behind.  He was yanked backwards and spun, to face…no one.  "Bob, it's me," Darian whispered sharply.  "Listen, these guys are too much for us right now.  We're not going to win.  I know it and you would too, if you weren't so damned caught up in your anger to think.  We have to get out of here.  I'm going to go get the others.  You better have this thing ready to go by then, because if not, I don't think we're going to make it to Transylvania."  Bob almost looked like he was going to argue, but then his face cleared of anger, replaced with realization.  He nodded sharply and ran back into the ship, while Darian headed towards the closet member of the League…Robin.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Nigma had been mounting a comeback, slamming Robin with some hard hits from both his staff and his fists.  Robin was holding his own, but steadily giving ground, getting close to the water, where Nigma noticed that Azrael was waiting.  The demon had a smirk on his face, and Nigma began to mirror it as Robin got closer and closer to the edge of the docks.  Just then, Nigma was thrown to the right, ending up sprawled out on the ground.  "Behind you," Darian's voice growled, and Robin spun to see Azrael launching himself out of the water, club raised high, intended to be a sharp, quick strike to the head.  Robin sidestepped quickly and swept out his foot, tripping Azrael up and sending him straight into Darian's line of attack.  Darian, now holding the Riddler's staff, delivered yet another rising strike to Azrael's chin, this one knocking him hopelessly unconscious.  Nigma was struggling to get up until Darian attacked him in a similar fashion.  "Two down," Darian grumbled.

"Help me with the others!  We have to work as a team if we want to beat them," Robin exclaimed, glancing around to find the Leaguer in need of the most aid.  "Where's Bob?"

"Getting the ship ready," Darian returned, chucking Nigma's staff onto his prone body.  "Once we're done here, we'll need a quick exit."  Robin nodded and the two then looked to Selene, who appeared to be having some trouble with Raze.

"I have an idea," Robin stated.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Michael had done nothing wrong," Selene snapped loudly, her voice carrying over the constant gunfire that sounded from her weapons.  "Nothing!  And you murdered him!"  Raze didn't bother to dignify that with so much as a growl.  "Shit," the beautiful vampiress cursed, "need to reload!"  Robin ducked in to act as cover almost as if on cue.

"Selene," he whispered sharply.  "Do you have any silver bladed weapons?"

"Yes, why," she snapped, not wanting to be interrupted.

"Throw it at him and miss."

"What," she asked, her head shooting up sharply.  "Miss?  Are you insane?"

"Just trust me!"  Selene stared hard at Robin for a moment, and then her hand shot inside of her coat.  Robin sidestepped just in time to see a gleaming silver blade whiz by his head.  Just as Robin had asked, she missed, and the blade stuck in the wall behind Raze.  "Now watch," Robin stated softly.

"Watch for wha – oh."  The blade was yanked out of the wall by an invisible hand.  It then surged forward and slammed into Raze's back.  The Lycan howled in fury and flailed, trying to get the blade out or perhaps trying to shred his assailant, but to no avail.  Selene charged forward while Robin readied a net, and as soon as Selene had pushed the Lycan over, Robin tossed the net.  "That was a good plan," Selene breathed, and then pointed over to Zorro.  "Robin, get him!  He's far too proud to retreat from a fight like that on his own.  Darian and I will get the others."  Robin nodded and the trio split up, Selene and Darian heading towards the rather back and forth fight between Alex and Lazarus and Robin heading towards Zorro and…well, ex-Zorro.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Nice stab, kid," Lazarus growled, and then laughed as the wound closed up.  "Damn, this is going to take forever."

"I've got forever for _you_, bastard," Alex spat.

"Hey, I told ya kid, didn't I?  I told you I'd come back, just like you – a big fucking shit spewing bird."  He gave a faux bow that served the purpose of both infuriating Alex and dodging a lunge and then slammed an uppercut into Alex's jaw.  "I'm the one that doesn't go down, remember?  Can't kill me just like I can't kill you.  Why are we even wasting our time?"

"If I kill your bird," Alex returned, "I kill you."

"Yeah, vice versa for me," Lazarus stated.  "I kill your bird, you die."  He grinned and dodged to the left to avoid an angry stab.  "Wanna know the difference between you and me, kid?"  Without waiting for a response, Lazarus reached inside his coat and pulled out a gun, immediately opening fire.  "I have a gun!"

"Oh yeah," Darian returned, slapping the gun up into the air before catching it and spinning it so that it faced an albino crow, perched on a rooftop.  "Now _I_ have a gun."  Lazarus bolted forward, but Selene slammed into him from the side, sending him flying through the wall of a warehouse before coming to rest inside.  The bird took off, and try as he might, Darian couldn't get a good shot.

"Don't bother," Alex growled before pointing to where Indy was whipping desperately at debris blown up by Im Ho Tep's winds.  "Let's go get him!"

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Meanwhile, Robin was having a tough time with Zorro.  "I'm telling you," the Boy Wonder was saying, "this isn't worth it!  You can't kill him, not like this, all you'll do is get yourself killed!"

"What do you know of it, _boy_," Alejandro spat without looking at Robin.  He blocked a slash from de la Vega, barely, and Robin took that opportunity to grab him and throw him backwards.

"What do I know of it?  I've seen two father figures killed – one my real father, the other a father in everything but blood – and I know what it's like to lose one!  I lost an entire family," Robin raged.  "But I had to pick and choose my battles, or I would have wound up as dead as they are!"  Zorro threw Robin out of the way to avoid a thrust by Diego, almost getting hit himself.  Robin growled and grabbed Zorro.  "Fine, if you want to do this the hard way," he shot out sharply.  Robin launched his grappling hook onto the tower and the two were pulled upwards.  At the same time, he sent a Batarang down on an unsuspecting de la Vega, who had to flee to avoid further pelting.  Without waiting for Zorro to so much as utter a word, Robin shoved the man into the waiting arms of Brody and then looked to where Selene, Darian, and Alex were running.  He followed their path and saw Indy get hit with a small, round table that sent him reeling backwards.  "Damn it," Robin growled, launching his hook yet again, this time sticking it to the roof of a building.  He then took a running leap off the tower, pumping his legs forward to add to the momentum.  He detached the hook and backflipped, landing squarely on Hulk's shoulders.  The monster started to flail around, but identified Robin as friend and stopped.  Robin whispered something to him, Hulk nodded, and then launched the two of them towards Im Ho Tep.

"What are they doing," Selene shouted above the roaring of the winds.

"Something smart," Alex shot back.  "Look!"  He pointed at Robin, who was yanking a book from Im Ho Tep's hands.  Hulk kicked the Egyptian man backwards, sending him careening through three buildings.  The winds died down, and Indy came bolting out of his cover behind a McDonalds.  Hulk and Robin both began taunting Im Ho Tep, who responded by forming himself into a large wave of sand intent on slapping down ontop of the pair.  Hulk spun then and launched them upwards, landing on his father's shrinking arm.  Im Ho Tep realized too late what was happening, and just before he slammed down, Hulk jumped once more, getting both of them clear.  Im Ho Tep smacked down on top of the elderly Banner, who ended up with his own absorbing powers being used against him.  Banner's powers rendered him into Im Ho Tep's sand.  Im Ho Tep couldn't transform back until Banner was able to focus on absorbing something else, and Banner couldn't do that until Im Ho Tep managed to pull enough of himself back together.

The League, seeing their opportunity, bolted back to The Sword, which promptly left the dock as soon as the entire League was aboard.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"I don't believe this," James Bond stated, his voice dripping with disapproval on the computer screen.  "We tell you to do a simple thing-"

"We were defending ourselves," Jones growled back, interrupting Bond.  "What choice did we have?  They just popped up out of an alley, it was either fight or die, and there's no way in hell I was prepared to die!"

"The Mexican government is going to be all over this by midnight," Bond shot back.

"Tell them to deal with it!  It's not like much was damaged-"

"Oh, of course, just a dock and four buildings!"  This time, Bond had cut Jones off.  "Not to mention you broadcasted your abilities in broad daylight!  Be lucky no one had cameras or camcorders handy, because if they had-"

"They would've had pictures to show their grandkids," Jones bellowed.  "Bond, just calm down.  We did what we had to do, no more, and we ended it quickly.  If you want us to do our job, you've gotta give us the leeway to do what we have to do to stay alive long enough to _get_ to Transylvania."  Jones then waved angrily.  "We're done."  The web cam feed cut off, and Indy imagined that Bond would be sighing heavily from wherever he was.  Indy got up and stretched, and then jumped when Darian, still invisible, tapped him on his shoulder.  "Damnit Darian, don't _do_ that!"

"Oops," Darian laughed, suddenly becoming visible again.  "Sorry.  Listen, I just came by to let you know Bruce is back to being normal.  Selene's with him, Zorro's brooding, Bob's smoking up in the game room, Alex said he was going to listen to music in his room, and Robin's just wandering the halls."  He sighed and shook his head.  "The kid looks haunted.  I think you should talk to him."

"Me," Indy returned, incredulous.  "Why me?"

"He needs a new role model.  He's been looking to you for that since the fight at Alex's place," Darian explained.  "It's obvious.  You need to talk to the kid, he'll listen to you."

"And he won't listen to the rest of you?"

"Only Selene, and she's in no hurry to get close to anyone," Darian replied.

"Yeah, yeah," Indy groaned.  "I'm goin'."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Indy found Robin pacing the halls, hands laced behind his back.  "Heya kid."

"Oh.  Um…hey."  Robin appeared to be lost in his own little world, and Indy understood completely.  He'd been there a few times himself.

"Hey, you did good back there," the elder of the two stated.  'Oh, great job Indiana' he scolded himself mentally.

"Really?"

"'Course.  That was a good plan you came up with, forcing Banner to absorb Im Ho Tep."

"Well, it was just a spur of the moment thing-"

"It was a good spur of the moment thing.  You did a good job with Zorro too, most people would've either been too afraid or too damn sensitive to just grab the guy and yank him out of there."  The pair walked in silence for a few moments.

"Indy," Robin began.  "Thanks."

"Hey," Indy replied, clapping Robin on the shoulder, "no problem, kid.  You saved my ass back there.  Hopefully I'll be able to repay the favor."  Robin smiled, and so did Indy.  "C'mon, let's go get the others together.  We've got to talk about how we're going to get to Transylvania."


	5. Planning

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

**Dreams of the Damned**

**Chapter Four**

**Planning**

AN:  Thanks for all the reviews, I appreciate the feedback.  I do want to say one thing, though:  The Batman I'm using is movieverse, and therefore he hasn't faced Superman…and, actually, I don't think movieverse Batman could handle Dracula.  I know my opinions aren't shared, but that's the way I feel about it.  And yeah, I know the Silent Bob choice is pretty wild.  I wanted to surprise people, lol.  And hey, Velocity, if you ever get your fic up somewhere, toss me a link.  I love reading LXG stuff, as can be guessed, lol.

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"So," a thickly accented voice began, Edward Nigma standing stiff as a board before the darkened throne from which the voice spoke, "you were defeated."  The room was large, shadowed, and dim, almost like night itself.  There was one doorway, behind Nigma, and it had been securely closed when the Riddler had entered.

"Yes, but-"

"SILENCE," the voice snarled, and Nigma's jaw snapped shut.  "You were created to oppose the League and to keep them from getting here.  You _do_ realize that, do you not?"

"Yes, I do, but-"

"Do not try and explain yourself to me, Nigma.  You are wasting your time."  Nigma merely gulped and nodded.  "You are very, very lucky that the League has not yet come to a decision about how to get here.  I am assigning you to a different task now.  You will not be directly opposing the League, not in the same fashion as previously, at any rate."  From out of the deep shadows of the throne came a face, with a bushy black mustache, high aquiline nose, pale complexion, long, well groomed black hair topped in a white top hat…and red, devil's eyes, full of rage and disappointment.  "Im Ho Tep tells me that the League would have been hopelessly locked in futile combat were it not for the initial intervention of the invisible thief.  Is this information correct?"

"Y-yes, it is."

"I see.  I assumed that one of you could handle two enemies at once.  Apparently, I was wrong."

"If I may-"

"You may not," the regal looking man stated.  He identified a brief shudder rippling through Nigma's body, and he laughed at the pathetic little psychotic's terror.  "To ensure that this does not happen again, I have added someone to your troops."  Dracula, Count of legend, as yet unknown terror of the present, stood from his throne and pointed to a doorway.  "I trust you will take good care of my childe…."

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Meanwhile, on the Sword, the League all sat around the conference table.  Bob had directed Brody to sail them on a path that would take them to Romania.  Brody was, of course, a bit worried about that, but Bob made sure he understood it was of the utmost importance.  At this point, Bob was just worried Brody would slack off and start reading comics instead of taking care to get them to where they needed to go.  Honestly, after spending time with the man, so was the rest of the League.  At the moment, though, they had other things to concern themselves with.  "So," Indy began, "we've experienced our first battle as a team.  I really don't need to point out that we didn't do too well."

"We won," Robin supplied cheerfully.

"That we did," Selene stated, "but it was luck, not skill.  Had there been someone to keep Darien occupied, we all would have been lost to our own angers and pasts, and this…anti-League would have won."

"But that didn't happen," Robin cut in.

"Not this time," Bruce sighed, "but you have to believe that Dracula _will_ correct that mistake."

"We don't know that," Robin argued, trying to salvage some form of victory from the gloomy mood of his comrades.

"Robin, they're right," Darien said.  "But I see what you're saying.  It was a lucky win, yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't be happy about it."

"Now, who said we weren't happy," Selene said, smiling very slightly.  Zorro had been silent since entering the conference room, and Robin had a guess as to why.

"I'm sorry, Zorro," the Boy Wonder said, sighing.  "I know you wanted to free Diego de la Vega from Dracula's grasp."

"You don't need to apologize," Zorro returned.  "In fact, I think I should be apologizing to you.  You put yourself on the line for me, and all I did was insult you.  So _I_ am sorry, Robin.  Perhaps you know something of the sorrow that I feel."  Robin didn't say anything to that, but it was rather obvious that Zorro had said the wrong words.  Silence descended on the table for a moment, and then Robin muttered something about needing air before pushing himself up from the table and heading out of the room.  Darien rose to follow, but Selene shook her head.

"He needs to be alone," she stated, sighing.

"I should not have said anything," Zorro replied, his voice heavy with guilt.

"It isn't your fault, Zorro," Indy corrected.  "See…you know about Batman, right?"

"That Robin is his partner, of course.  The Dynamic Duo are famous," Zorro explained.

"_Was_," Bob corrected.

"Dracula killed Batman," Darien explained.

"Oh," Zorro said, feeling terribly guilty for what he'd said.  "I should go apologize."

"I think maybe we should all just let him be for now," Bruce stated.

"He should be here for the meeting," Darien argued.  "I'll get him."

"He wants to kill Dracula," Selene corrected.  "He doesn't give a damn how we get there.  Just that it happens."

"But he's an equal part of the League," Darien stated.

"No one is saying he isn't," Bruce added.  "Just that he needs to be left alone right now.  Since all he wants is to take down Dracula, why would he care whether we go down one channel or another?  His only concern is that we get there, not what road we take."

"That's what I'm worried about," Darien muttered, but it was under his breath and no one heard.

"So…are we agreed to follow the route that the Harker party took when going to Transylvania," Selene asked.  "Since that's all that's necessary to be ask."

"I don't see why not," Bruce confirmed.

"Works for me," Darien put in.

Bob nodded matter-of-factly.

"I have no problem with it," Zorro replied.

"Then it's decided," Indy stated, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table.  "We go to Transylvania, to fight a horror of horrors.  We all have our own reasons, but our duty is what unites us as a team.  We're all different, some of us more than others, but that doesn't make us any less.  As a team, we have to watch out for each other, and none of us can abandon ship."  He leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily as the last words of his speech escaped his lips.  "We're the last hope this world has.  Lets not disappoint anyone."  Selene was the first to rise, followed by Bob, then Bruce, and finally Zorro.  Darien didn't move, and when Indy rose to go, he rose as well.  "What is it, Darien," Indy asked, sounding exasperated.

"You should go talk to Robin."

"Darien…he needs to be alone."

"No," Darien stated, his tone leaving no room for argument, "he needs to be with someone."

"How do you know," Indy asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I see a lot of myself in the kid," Darien replied.  "He's angry, and not just at Dracula.  He's a kid, he doesn't get that this is an isolated thing.  He's angry at the world for creating Dracula, for creating the circumstances around his resurrection, for creating the circumstances that lead to Batman's death.  He's angry at himself for not being able to do a damn thing about Batman's death, and most of all…he's angry at Batman for leaving him…and he hates that he is."

"…Wow."  Indy moved towards the door, but stopped and put his hand on Darien's shoulder briefly.  "I guess you're not as see-through as you thought."  With that, Indy headed out, intending to find Robin.  Darien smiled very slightly.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Robin stood on the conning tower, wondering why he always came there to brood or think.  "Bruce…why did you have to jump down there?  Jay was in trouble…but we both knew there was no way Dracula could be stopped.  We could've helped some other way…maybe you could've been here instead of me.  God knows you're more capable."  He began to choke up, and unshed tears began to roll down his face.

"Who says this isn't how it was meant to be," came Selene's soft voice from behind him.  Robin took a deep, gasping breath and tried to stop the tears.  "Don't.  Sometimes people need to cry."  She came to stand beside him, putting her hand on his arm gently.  "Robin…sometimes you have to cry to let out whatever it is you want to let out."  Robin looked into her eyes for a moment before more or less throwing himself into her arms, burying his face in her shoulder.  While Selene wasn't used to this sort of thing, she knew Robin needed someone, someone besides a role model…and she'd seen the way he'd looked at her from the moment they met.  He cared for her, and right now, he needed that.  She would be there for him.

Because she wasn't sure if she didn't feel the same way about him.


	6. Deception

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Dreams of the Damned

Chapter Five

Deception

"Hey, Bob," Indy called, stepping into the spacious driver's area in The Sword.  It was like a very large walk in closet, only there were chairs (even a few beanbag chairs) situated all over the place.  "Y'know, if weed makes you this brilliant, maybe I should try?"  Brody laughed and shook his head.  "What?"

"You're going to be sorry you said that."  Bob turned, revealing that he was currently puffing on a joint.  "See what I mean?"  Bob then offered the joint to Indy.

"Well…ah, hell, why not?"  He took the offered joint, held it so that his fingers wouldn't get burnt when he took a puff in, and proceeded to do just that.  He winced involuntarily as the back of his throat was burnt, but all the same…it was an oddly pleasurable experience.  Bob held out his hand, and Indy handed the joint back to him.  Bob grinned and directed Brody to take the wheel.  He then walked to the door and opened it, indicating with his hand that the two of them should go for a walk.  He took a puff on the joint and held it out with a questioning look on his face.  Indy nodded his thanks and took the joint, stepping out into the halls.  Bob joined him a moment later, after grabbing a comic that Brody was trying to sneak a peek at, and Indy took a puff on the joint.

"Y'know," Indy stated, after coughing slightly, "this isn't as bad as I thought it would be."  Bob grinned and took the joint back, taking a puff and glancing oddly at Indy, who was now wearing a somewhat spaced out look.  It was then that they heard the loud banging from around the corner, and they both knew what that meant.

"Hulk," Bob offered, and the pair of them took off around the corner.  Hulk stood, railing at some poor sap that had been trying to clean up the mess caused by his transformation.  Indy looked stumped at first, and then got an idea.  He grabbed the joint out of Bob's hand and took an exaggerated puff, which he guessed would catch Hulk's interest.

He was right.  Hulk snatched the joint out of his hand and gazed at it a moment before mimicking Indy.  He started to cough, gazed at the joint, and took another puff.  Indy grabbed it at that point, and instead of being angry, Hulk shrugged and gazed intently at a spot on the wall.  "Wall out to get Hulk," the green goliath said after a moment.  Indy peered at it closely, narrowing his eyes, before taking a puff of the joint.

Bob looked at the two of them with a mix of amusement and amazement.  These two were the most lightweight smokers he'd ever met!  Then he too got an idea, smirked, and walked off, leaving Indiana Jones and Hulk to smoke the joint unsupervised.

"Hey, I think you're right," Indy stated, after a rather long few minutes of contemplation.  "We should get going, before it realizes it needs to use its arms to get us."  So the two began walking, and Hulk picked up Indy and placed the explorer on his shoulder.  Indy grinned and handed the joint to Hulk, who took a long puff and passed it back to Indy.  "So, um…where are we going?  I know I had something in mind when I went to talk to Bob, but…I can't remember it."

"Hulk think wall chasing us."  Both of them snapped their heads around, peering down the hallway intensely.  "Sneaky wall."

"What should we do," Indy asked, his free hand snaking towards his pistol.

"Find funny see-through man.  He see wall before wall see us!"

"Right," Indy stated, and then pointed out ahead of him.  "To Darien!"  Hulk sniffed the air and then took off down the hall.  The thudding noises of Hulk's rapid pace thundered throughout The Sword, and Indy could barely manage to hold on and keep his hat in place.  Hulk skidded around a corner and stopped, pointing a hand out at Darien.

"See-through man!!!!"  Darien froze in place, looking like a deer in the headlights of a Sherman tank.  "Need help.  Wall out to get us.  You be see-through, see wall before wall sees us!"  Darien's look of fear had only increased as Hulk spoke, and he looked to Indy, a tremor in his voice as he spoke.

"I-is he high?"  Indy grinned and held up the joint, and Darien groaned a word that sounded like "duh" before grinning slightly.  "Say, Indy…how about you let me join in on your little party?"

"C'mon aboard Hulk Express," Indy stated, which elicited a laugh from Hulk.  The green giant scooped Darien up and placed him on his other shoulder.  Indy passed the joint around Hulk's massive jade head and Darien took it with a smirk.

"Y'know, this is why I love you guys," Darien stated, puffing on the joint before passing it to Hulk.  Hulk grinned, took a puff, and then passed it to Indy.

"Who is Hulk," Hulk asked, and then beat his fists against his chest.

"I dunno," Darien stated, smirking.

"Um…that hairy mutant guy in New York," Indy guessed.  "With the knives in his hands?"

"King Kong," Hulk bellowed, and Indy and Darien both laughed.

"So how'd this all start, anyway," Darien asked, glancing to Indy.  The older man took a puff on the joint, passed it to Darien, and then thought for what seemed like forever.

"I…had to talk to Bob about…something."  He suddenly snapped his fingers and his face brightened.  "I was looking for Dick!"  Hulk snickered, and Indy slapped him in the back of the head.  "Not like that, Hulk."

"You gotta admit," Darien laughed, "that was pretty funny."  Hulk grinned and Darien high fived him.

"So what were we running from, again," Indy asked, looking around.

"Walls," Hulk shouted, as if just remembering his predicament.

"We should get out to where there aren't any," Darien supplied, before snapping his head around behind them.  "I heard something!"

"Hulk did too!"

"Then move," Indy exclaimed.  Hulk took off, and Indy started laughing.  "Darien, look at this!"  He wrapped his left arm around Hulk's head and then stood up.  "I'm the king of the world!"  Darien started cracking up laughing, and even Hulk, who was currently running very fast, sniggered.  They burst up the narrow ladder, Hulk being big enough to just put his hands on either side of the tower and propel them upwards, and more or less burst through the door.  They all breathed a sigh of relief before realizing that Robin was scrambling to get up, and Selene was looking at them in a mixture of amazement and worry.

"What's wrong," the beautiful vampiress asked.

"The walls were out to get us," Darien supplied.

"Hulk move too fast," Hulk added, gloating.  "Walls not catch us."  Selene looked stupefied, but Robin knew instantly what was going on.

"You're all high, aren't you," the Boy Wonder asked.

"As a kite, kiddo," Indy replied, laughing and showing him the joint.

"Hey, you don't look so good, Robin," Darien observed.  "But boy, do we have a solution!"  Hulk smiled broadly and Indy held the joint out in Robin's direction.  Robin looked at it before shaking his head.

"Nah, that's okay.  I think I'm going to go have a word with Bob."

"I'll join you," Selene stated, not wanting to be anywhere near a high Hulk.  As it turns out, it was Darien who she had to be worried about.  He hopped off of Hulk's shoulder before ducking behind the jade giant.  Selene allowed Robin to exit first, and then followed.  She didn't realize Darien had gone invisible and followed her until she felt a hand squeeze her backside.  She growled and spun, nearly hitting Darien.  "Once and once only I'll excuse you, Darien…the next time, Bob will have to find a new invisible man."  Darien laughed all the way back to his two companions, and they showed no signs of going anywhere until the joint, which was rather large, was smoked completely down.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Robin sighed as he pushed open the door to the conference room.  Bob had sent Zorro to get the vampire and the Boy Wonder, and now they were all taking their seats.  "Something wrong," Robin asked.

"Bob is deep in thought at the moment," Zorro explained.  "He and I were talking about what the next move should be when we spied a small boat in the window.  We got closer, and Bob recognized the occupant of the boat.  He was a very foul mouthed individual."

"That would be Jay," Robin stated.  He looked to Bob and smiled.  "I guess he's okay!"

"Bob believed the same," Zorro replied.

"You don't," Selene asked, unsure where the masked freedom fighter was going with this.

"I think it is possible," Zorro replied.  "And I am truly hoping this Jay is perfectly fine.  However…I have a bad feeling about this.  Bob was willing to delay picking him up until he spoke to all of us about it and took a vote.  The two of you have been informed, so now we can vote."

"The others are," Robin began, but Zorro cut him off with a grin.

"I have been informed as to their…condition.  We are treating them as 'injured' until the effect of the joint wears off."  Robin laughed and nodded his assent.  "Alright, now we vote.  All those in favor of picking up Jay, raise your hand."  Bob's hand shot up, and Robin's and Selene's were moments behind his.  Zorro glanced at all of the hands raised and sighed.  "It appears I am out voted.  In that case, I feel I should warn all of you:  Be careful.  On this journey, I have come to realize that appearances are not always as they seem."

"I understand, Zorro," Robin stated.  Bob nodded in agreement and Selene offered a reassuring smile.  "We'll take precautions just in case you're right."  Zorro let a slow smile spread across his face.

"That is what I was hoping for."  He rose and then added, "I think it would be wise to go tell the Three Amigos that they will be waiting on the conning tower until the effects of their little escapade wear off."  Laughter erupted from the three Leaguers seated, and Zorro headed off to make sure that Indiana, Hulk, and Darien stayed on the conning tower.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Tubby," Jay shouted in glee, throwing his arms around his friend as he was hauled aboard The Sword.  Bob embraced Jay warmly before making hasty introductions.  "Well, I'll be damned.  You moved up in the world, man.  So did you make any sales?"  Bob laughed and shook his head, and Robin couldn't help but smile.  Selene was trying to force her face to stay neutral while Zorro was beginning to feel more at ease with this Jay fellow.  True, his mouth was dirtier than a landfill, but he didn't seem like someone that could do too much damage.  "And yo, man, you're hookin' up with some hotties," Jay purred, smirking as he looked to Selene.  Robin's eyes narrowed and he sidled over to Selene.  "Awww, c'mon Dickie, loosen up."

"Listen, Jay," Robin began, "I know you've been through a lot, but you were screaming about needing to tell us something earlier, before we picked you up.  What is it?"

"Oh, shit!"  Jay smacked himself in the head.  "Damn, I almost forgot.  That Dracula guy, he kept me prisoner for a while, 'til I whooped his ass and escaped."

"More like annoyed the hell out of him until he let him go," Selene whispered, barely loud enough for Robin to hear.  He was hard pressed to suppress the laugh that tried to work its way out his mouth.

"But he was talkin' about whackin' some chick, and it sounded like he was kind of afraid of her."  He paused, and then he said, "Said her name was…Harler, or Harper or something."

"Wilhelmina Harker," Selene blurted, amazed.

"That was it," Jay exclaimed.  "Guy was in a rant and rave about that bitch, man.  Boring as all hell, lemme tell you."

"Did you hear where she was," Zorro questioned.  "And Jay, try to remember correctly.  This is important."

"…Yeah, yeah.  I remember."

"She'd be a major help in getting rid of Dracula," Robin stated.

"We'll have to call Bond," Selene added.

"My question," Zorro sighed, "is why she didn't show herself sooner."

"She probably heard that Dracula was back and was laying low until she got an opportunity to attack him," Robin explained.

"And we're that opportunity," Zorro finished, nodding in agreement.  "That makes sense.  So, Jay, do you think you could take us to where Dracula said Mrs. Harker was?"

"Ain't no thang," Jay replied enthusiastically.

"Then off we go," Selene stated.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"So, Jay has been recovered," Bond stated, his image yet again on the computers screen.  "And he says he can lead you to the whereabouts of Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker?"

"Yes," Zorro replied, nodding.  "Alex is teaching Jay a few knife techniques, since Bob seems to want him to stick around, and Robin and Selene are getting ready to go."

"And the others," Bond asked, arching an eyebrow.

"We have…assigned them to remain here, since we don't know how quickly the anti-League recovered."

"Good.  Well then, proceed with your plan, Mr. Murrieta.  Let me know when Mrs. Harker is on board."

"I will, Mr. Bond.  Thank you."

"Not at all."  Bond reached up to turn off his webcam, but the look on Zorro's face stopped him.  "Is there something wrong, Mr. Murrieta?"

"I was just wondering," Zorro began, "if you knew the reason why Mrs. Harker did not surface sooner."

"While we don't know the reasoning behind her hiding, we do know that she did not respond to our correspondence on the matter.  Do you suspect something, Mr. Murrieta?"

"…No.  No, nothing.  Thank you again, Mr. Bond."  Bond nodded, and this time he did turn his webcam off.  Zorro fiddled with his for a few moments before finding the switch and turning it off.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Are you sure this is the place Dracula said Mrs. Harker was residing in," Zorro asked, looking the decrepit mansion up and down.

"Sure I'm sure," Jay replied, holding the crossbow he'd been given close to his chest.  "I was only his prisoner and tortured an' all," he continued sarcastically.

"Point taken," Zorro replied.  "I apologize."

"Don't worry about it," Jay replied, shrugging it off.  He took a few steps backwards to indicate that he wouldn't be the one opening the door.  Robin sighed and moved up to grip the handle.  Selene grabbed his hand and shook her head.

"In case Dracula is waiting for us," she stated, "you'd better let me open it."  Alex used the moment of tension between the two to step forward and open the door.  He smirked at the angry Selene and gestured inside.

"Ladies first," he stated.  Selene sighed and entered, followed by Alex, Robin, and Bob.  The sight they were greeted with was a shocking one.

A woman with fiery red hair was chained, naked, to a wall.  Fangs were protruding from her mouth, and her eyes were glowing red.  She had narrow hips and a stunning figure, although her skin was oddly pale.  "Oh my god," Alex breathed, and Selene swung off her coat and strode forward, intending to cover Mrs. Harker with it.

There was a brief swooshing sound, and then a crossbow bolt thunked into Mrs. Harker's chest, piercing her heart and turning her to ash almost instantly.  The Leaguers spun to see Jay grinning, holding his crossbow, neck bent to reveal two half-healed puncture wounds on his neck.  "Sorry, tubby, but you walked into it."  The door slammed shut, revealing it to be made of strong, reinforced steel.  Selene ran up and slammed into it, but bounced back.  She growled and kicked at it, to no avail.  Alex punched through a nearby wall, his hand meeting with the same resistance.  "The entire house is reinforced with it," the Crow groaned.

"Our only hope," Robin stated, "is the three we left behind."

"Robin," Selene sighed.

"Yeah, I know, we're doomed," the Boy Wonder replied, "but hey, I had to at least try and be cheerful."  He glanced around at the others.  "So…what do we do now?"  Bob reached into his jacket and pulled out a deck of cards.

"Poker," the normally silent man stated.


	7. Saviors

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

**Dreams of the Damned**

**Chapter Six**

**Saviors**

AN:  Well, I hope that last chapter answered some of your questions.  Not sure how long this story is going to go on for, but I've already got the ending and sequel planned, so it probably won't go for more than another three or four chapters.  After that, it'll be my first complete story, so YAY!  Okay, moment over, lol.  Back to your regularly scheduled story.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

While the rest of the League was off being betrayed by someone that was supposed to be a friend, the aptly dubbed Three Amigos were finishing up the joint on the conning tower.  Hulk had long since become Bruce Banner again, and Bruce had immediately wandered away from the other two.  He had ventured down into the quiet of the inner decks somewhere over half an hour ago, and Darien and Indy were beginning to realize something.  "Hey, Indy," Darien slurred, "duncha think the rest of 'em should be back by now?"

"Yeah," Indy replied after taking a heavy puff of the joint, "I mean, they were just goin' to find that lady, um…Har…Har…Har-something, right?"

"Yeah," Darien replied.  "Think maybe we should go check and see if Brucey's doin' okay down there?"

"Yeah," Indy returned, and the pair of them tossed the rest of the joint off the tower before pushing themselves up from their positions on the ground, dusting themselves off, and heading inside.  "Man…it's really quiet in here."

"_Kill kill kill kill_," Darien hissed, and Indy laughed.  "If that Scream idiot jumps out at me, I'm kickin' his ass."

"I'll help," Indy offered, and they peered around a corner to make sure no one was there before striding confidently down the hallway.  "Hey, isn't it kinda quiet in here?"

"Yeah, it is," Darien returned.  "You'd think they'd make a little more noise than this."

"Maybe they're not back yet," Indy replied.

"Not back yet?  They _have_ to be back, all they were doing was getting that Har lady."  After a few moments of silence, Indy glanced at Darien.

"But they're not," the explorer said, his voice sounding a bit more clear and less effected than it had a moment ago.  "They said they'd let us know when they were back, remember?"

"Yeah…yeah, you're right," Darien stated, rubbing his head to try and clear it.  "That was a while ago, too.  Maybe…an hour ago?"

"That's right," Indiana agreed.  "They should definitely be back by now."

"C'mon, let's go talk to Bond," Darien suggested.  "After we find Bruce."

"No need," Bruce replied, coming around the corner.  "I just wanted to change, and then I was trying to look for you two."

"Well, we're going to talk to Bond," Indiana explained, rubbing his temple to get rid of the headache that was coming on.

"Alright," Bruce said, and then looked around a minute.  "There's nobody else on the ship, is there?"

"Apparently not," Darien stated, adding in a slight sigh towards the end of the sentence.  The trio walked in silence the rest of the way there, mulling over what had happened as well as what was said while everyone was high.  Darien was the quickest walker of the three, and he pushed open the door and held it for the other two to go in first.  Indy took a seat in front of the webcam, Bruce pulled up a chair nearby, and Darien leaned up against the wall.  Indiana typed in the password for the signaler, and within moments, he was facing a rather shocked Bond.

"Jones," Bond queried.  "What's going on?"

"Well, Mr. Bond, that's what we're here to ask you," Indiana explained.

"Where are the others?"

"They left us here," Darien cut in quickly.  "They said they needed people to watch The Sword in case Dracula or anybody else attacked.  They figured that since they were just going to pick up Mrs…um…."

"Harker," Bruce added in swiftly, covering up for Darien's lack of memory, "Since they were just going to pick up Mrs. Harker, they didn't need everybody, and it was better to be on the safe side and leave the three of us here."

"They left the leader here," Bond asked, raising his left eyebrow questioningly.

"Who do you think had the idea," Indy returned, mocking Bond by sticking up his eyebrow in an exaggerated manner.

"Why are your eyes bloodshot," Bond queried after a moment.  When Indy tried to stumble over himself to explain, Bond waved it off.  "Oh, don't even bother.  You were high, that's why the others left you here."

"Well," Bruce began, trailing off.

"Yeah," Darien replied.  "That's why."

"So where are the others," Indy asked again.

"I can only assume they are trying to convince Mrs. Harker to join us, and taking a much longer time than expected."  Silence descended on the room for all of a minute.

"We'll head out to look for them," Bruce stated, slipping out of the room.

"Yeah," Darien agreed, following behind Bruce.  Indy was about to shut the webcam off when Bond stopped him with a look.

"Mr. Jones," the super-spy stated in an amused tone, "you might want to apply a few eye drops first."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"Alright," Darien stated, looking at the map that had been drawn from Bond's instructions, "it says we have to take a left here."

"Too bad you won't make it any farther," Azrael's familiar voice rang out.  "And you were so _close_, too."  The demon clambered out from behind a bush, looking rather upset at having to hide behind it.  "I swear to Satan, Dracula and I are going to have to have a talk about where he assigns high ranking demons to hide," Azrael complained.

"Bruce, go on ahead," Darien stated, handing Bruce the map.

"What if there's more there," Bruce questioned.

"Hulk out," Darien offered.  "We need the others if the rest of the anti-League is here."

"Anti-League," Azrael mused.  "I like that.  Thanks, addict.  I'll have to take that one up with fangboy, too."  Bruce reluctantly took the map, but didn't go anywhere.  "Oh, go ahead, nerd.  Not like there's anything you _or_ your Jolly Green Giant can do to help your friends."

"What do you mean," Indiana asked, taking a bold step forward to distract Azrael from Indy's right hand, which was reaching for his gun.

"That house is poisoning them.  They don't even know it."  Indy's gun snapped out and he fired on Azrael, but in a lightning flash of movement, Azrael brought the golf club up and deflected the bullet.  Bruce took off running, while Darien slipped into invisible mode.  Indy yanked his whip out of its holder and attempted to crack it at Azrael's face.  Azrael dodged to the side and tried to thrust in with his golf club, aiming for Indiana's gut.  Indiana leapt backwards and cracked his whip around the club, and as soon as his whip had wrapped up around it, the explorer gave it a good yank and the club flew from Azrael's hand.  Azrael growled and shot forward, tackling Jones and sending his gun skittering across the ground.  He gripped Indiana's hat and yanked it off, placing it on his own head.  "Nice hat."  Indiana decked him right between the eyes, sending the demon rolling off of him and falling into unconscious.  Indy reached down and grabbed his hat, placing it triumphantly back on his head.

"It looks better on me."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Bruce ran swiftly through the forest surrounding Mrs. Harker's mansion, trying to break through the seemingly never-ending line of trees.  He wasn't built for this kind of thing, what with his already low endurance and lack of physical fitness.  What was worse was that he could hear someone following him, but every time he looked back, he saw nothing at all.  He was really beginning to get worried, but unfortunately, worry didn't unleash Hulk.  "Bruce," hissed a familiar voice from nowhere, "it's me."

"Dar…ien," Bruce gasped heavily, starting to slow down.  He found himself being shoved forward.

"No, don't stop!  I'm not the only one back here!  I saw Nigma take off after you while Azrael distracted Indy, so I took off after him.  Thank god both of you science guys aren't all that fit."

"Thanks," Bruce managed to growl out, even as Harker's mansion came into view.

"Don't worry about Nigma, I'll handle him, you just keep going!  Get the others!"  Darien flew off to the side, and a moment later, Bruce saw the Riddler fly out of the forest and land hard on his back.  He knew he had to get through whatever was in that house; his two friends had cleared his way.

It wasn't until he ran into the steel door that he realized that instead of getting through what was _in_ the house, he might need to get through the house _itself_.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Bob's head shot up as he heard a thumping against the metal of the door.  Robin dropped his cards and hopped over his chair, Alex a second behind.  Selene was rushing to the door, while Zorro was drawing his blade, in case what was knocking was hostile.  Bob followed suit after scooping up his cards, bringing his bat up and coming to stand next to Zorro.  "Who is it," Robin shouted.

"It's me, Bruce!  What's with this house?"

"It's reinforced with steel," Selene returned loudly.

"Oh!  Then stand back!"  Bruce's voice paused, and then he added, "Oh, and somebody start calling me names!"  Everyone on the inside of the house looked at each other oddly.

"Call you names," Zorro asked, perplexed.

"Just _do_ it!"

"Hulk is aroused by anger," Selene realized.  Robin's eyes flew wide and then he started pelting Bruce with insults, from his face to his toes.  He was pulling out every insult he'd ever heard in any school or TV show about schools.  Within a matter of moments, a green hand shoved through the door, and Hulk let out a triumphant roar as he ripped a huge hole in the house.  The others cheered him on, and then he spun just in time to see Im-Ho-Tep chanting from yet another book.  A huge wind suddenly came forward and lifted Hulk into the air, slamming him into the roof of the mansion.  Robin shot out the door, tackling the ancient mummy, the book clattering out of his hands.  Alex was out a moment later, but a huge fist made of a tree backhanded him into the forest, where another large tree tried to bare hug the immortality out of him.  Zorro ducked out quickly and began to hack at the tree, Alex joining in, trying to saw the tree branch off with his knife.  Bob ducked out and mistook de la Vega's head for a baseball, sending the elderly swordsman reeling backwards with one hell of a swing.  Alex was wriggling free now, and Zorro was trying to fend off a vine that was apparently trying to grasp for his throat.  Robin was struggling with Im-Ho-Tep, trying to get to the book he'd been chanting from before the Egyptian.  Hulk grabbed the sentient tree, lifted it up, spun once, and launched David Banner high into the air and away from the battlefield.  Alex saw that he was needed over in Robin's corner, and he bolted towards the Boy Wonder, grabbing the downed book just before Im-Ho-Tep could snatch it from the ground.  Lazarus popped out from a nearby guardhouse and made a grab for the book, but Alex dodged backwards and slammed the book into the back of Lazarus's head.  Lazarus stumbled forward and found himself impaled on Zorro's sword.  The masked freedom fighter growled and decked the evil immortal in the face, sending him stumbling off of his sword.  Alex grabbed him and threw him into the house.  Robin had managed to get a firm hold of Im-Ho-Tep, and he did the same.  An invisible hand lifted up the Riddler's prone body and chucked him into the Egyptian, who was forced to catch him instead of getting hit with his unconscious teammate.  Bob grabbed de la Vega's shoulder and sent him stumbling towards the hole, finishing the job with a vicious swing to the back of the swordsman's head that sent him, unconscious, into the house.  Indiana appeared from the treeline, dragging an unconscious Azrael behind him, grumbling about being too old for this sort of thing.  Hulk moved aside, while Zorro and Robin went and grabbed Azrael, each of the two taking an arm.  They chucked him in with his teammates.  Lazarus tried to get out, but a vicious shove from Alex sent him backwards and over the table that had been used for playing poker, tripping him up and tangling his legs hopelessly in a chair.  Hulk grabbed the hole he'd made and started to close it up.  Then he dashed over to the forest, ripped a tree out of the ground, and set up a barricade in front of the somewhat repaired hole, trapping most of the anti-League within the house.  David Banner was far away, somewhere in the ocean; unconscious and looking like a large piece of floating driftwood.

"Well, that's that, then," Alex said, sheathing his knife and clapping his hands together.  Hulk surveyed the torn up battlefield before nodding in satisfaction and heading back towards the Sword.  Indy followed a moment later, followed by a visible Darien, Selene, Robin, Zorro, and then finally, Bob.  Until a familiar voice stopped the bearded Leaguer in his tracks.

"Hey, tubby, you forgot about someone."

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Bob spun, bat still in hand, to see Jay standing in the middle of the torn up battlefield, holding a short sword.  "C'mon, fat ass, don't tell me you forget your hetero life mate."  Bob winced at the words, hearing malice in them now that had never been present before.  "Awww, did I hurt your feelings?  Fuck, Bob…I remember you having more balls than that.  Hangin' with these dopes has turned you into a sissy ass little pansy."  Robin started to step forward, but Hulk held out his arm and shook his massive head.  The others seemed to understand as well, and Zorro put a hand on Robin's shoulder.

"This is Bob's fight, Robin," Zorro whispered.  "He blames himself for Jay's death and return as a vampire just like you blame yourself for Batman's death and I blame myself for my teacher's return from the dead.  He needs to beat this inner demon on his own, just like you would want to beat it if it were Batman standing there."  Robin understood now, and turned and began heading back to the Sword.  The others all gave nods to Bop as they followed.

Finally, after everyone had cleared from the battlefield and the sounds had all died away; Jay and Silent Bob struck…but this time, at each other.  And it was a sad day indeed.  Unnoticed by either combatant, Alex's crow was perched on a nearby tree, watching the battle discretely.

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Several hours later, Robin and Alex froze as they heard the door to the Sword open and Bob walk in, obviously brooding.  He was bruised and cut in a few places, and Robin strode forward to help him to wherever Bruce or Selene was.  True, neither were medical doctors, but both knew how to treat wounds of that nature.  Instead, Bob sulked past him, ignoring the offered help.  "Bob…do you want to talk about it?"  The silent prophet shook his head, not bothering to slow his pace.  Robin caught up and stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.  "Alright, but don't forget…we're here for you."  Bob looked up to Robin at that, and the ghost of a smile crossed the older man's face.

"I know."  With that, Robin let Bob continue on his way to the conning tower.  Alex sidled up alongside the Boy Wonder.

"I had my crow watch the fight," he said, in hushed tones.  "Just in case Bob decided he wanted help."

"What happened," Robin asked.

"…Jay beat him," Alex explained, after a moment's hesitation.  "Bob was on his back, and Jay had his sword pressed against Bob's throat.  Then he said that their story didn't end here.  He said it ended it Transylvania, which was fitting because that was where the end of all things would begin.  Then he just…he became a huge flock of bats, as best as I can guess, and flew away."

"Geez…poor Bob."  With a heavy sigh, Robin said, "We need to get the others.  Now we at least have some idea of Dracula's plan.  We should let Bob brood for now, he needs it, but we'll need to drag him to get treated eventually.  Then we'll head to Transylvania."

"Sounds like you've been taking lessons from Indy," Alex stated, grinning.  Robin tried to hide the smile of pride as the pair of them slipped through the door.

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"Oh," Lazarus stated, "I am so going to kill that kid once we get out of here."

"And how do you intend to do that, Lazarus," Im-Ho-Tep questioned sarcastically.  "We're the only two conscious at the moment, and I'm useless in this situation without one of the copies of my book.  Your strengths are not suited to tasks such as this.  We need Banner if we are to have any chance of getting out of here."

"I've already sent my bird to look for him," Lazarus replied.  "But that's gonna take a damn long time.  That big green freak threw him farther than I've _ever_ seen."

"However…I do agree with your sentiment on our course of action once we get out of here."

"Of _course_ you do, Im-Ho-Tep."  Lazarus grinned and reached inside his coat.  "Until then," he began, pausing momentarily as he removed a deck of playing cards from his jacket, "how 'bout a game of poker?"


	8. Arriving

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Dreams of the Damned

Chapter Seven

Arriving 

AN:  I'm _soooo_ sorry I didn't get this updated sooner!  My mind went completely blank, and no matter what I tried, I couldn't get it to come up with anything for the life of me.  In the end, I decided to slightly speed up the time a little bit, so that the League is now arriving in Transylvania.  I know, I know, but I'd boxed myself in a bit with the previous chapters.  Don't worry, though, Dracula's reasons for the trap become apparent in this chapter.  The King of the Undead is also featured much more prominently from this point on.  Well, that's it for now, and to anyone who is still reading this despite the long update time:  **THANK YOU!**  Your patience is appreciated a great deal.  This chapter is going to be a long one, though the story might not last more than one or two more chapters.  Now, for some responses.

Etcetera Kit:  Mind if I just call you EK?  ^_^() Being that I'm kinda lazy, lol.  I appreciate your praise a great deal, and I'm glad you liked the part about the three of them getting high.  That was just a spur of the moment thing, lol.

TARilus:  Much thanks, and I noticed that as well.  So yes, the action will be spaced out from now on.  For instance, the action later on in this chapter.  I appreciate the comment about my line-up, too.  You have no idea how worried I was that people wouldn't like the combination of characters.

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Dracula stood at one of the many windows in his castle, gazing out over his city.  Once he wouldn't have considered the city his, but recent events must have given him a superiority complex.  Either way, the vampire that had dubbed himself the King of the Undead smiled now, even as he saw The Sword rocket up out of the water and onto the land.  Obviously, the League was expecting trouble or resistance, or at the very least, the civilians to erupt into a panic, confusing their enemy and providing a veritable smokescreen for their actions.

"It's too bad," he mused, smirking at The Sword even as it pulled to an uncertain stop, "that there aren't any civilians."

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The Sword had pulled to a stop a minute earlier, and the League had waited, expecting something to happen.  There should've been people there, but it wasn't unreasonable to think that Dracula had closed off this area of town so that he could see their arrival.  However, that still left it possible for someone to see from a home, or some idiotic kid playing at being rebellious slipping into the area and seeing The Sword.

When that didn't happen, Alex moved to the doorway, instructing his crow to stay where it was.  He would lose the advantage of his Crowsight, but no one would be able to kill it, either, which meant that no one could kill _him_.  That thought in mind, Alex pulled out his knife and opened the door, exiting quickly and slamming it behind him.  He proceeded to cautiously inspect the area, glancing around corners and checking within homes.  Finally, he turned to face the Sword with a somewhat shocked look on his face, and he shrugged, shaking his head.  "There's no one here," Selene breathed, amazed.

"There have to be people," Robin returned, perplexed.

"Unless Dracula killed them all," Zorro chimed in.

"Let's try not to be so morbid," Bruce argued, glancing at Alex, who was patiently waiting for them to join him.  "Or pessimistic," he added, climbing out and leaving the door open.

"It isn't pessimism when he might actually do that," Indiana argued, sliding out next.

"It's realism," Selene agreed, hopping out next, guns flicking out into her hands on instinct.  Bob hopped out next, merely shrugging his shoulders before gesturing to Bruce.

"Yeah, I guess he's right," Robin sighed, checking his utility belt before joining the rest of the League.  All eyes turned to him expectantly, and he added, "Zorro."

"So…what now," Alex questioned, interrupting before any kind of argument could ensue.  Meanwhile, Bob whispered something to Darien, who slipped into invisibility.

"I guess we just head to that big castle over there," Robin replied, pointing at the large castle that was situated just on the outskirts of town, a little ways off.  The rest of the League agreed, and as one they headed towards it, heads darting to the left and right, Bob and Zorro watching the rear, everyone on high alert.  Just before they turned the corner, Robin sniffed the air and stumbled.  "Does anyone else smell corpses?"

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Dracula laughed as the boy stumbled, obviously noticing the smell that permeated the entire town…finally.  "Sire," a respectful voice greeted from behind him.

"Hello, Jay," Dracula returned, not turning from the window.  "Did things go as planned," the King of the Undead questioned.

"The League was tricked into visiting Mrs. Harker's mansion, as you requested.  Unfortunately, three of the League members were left behind."  A slight grin played across Jay's face for a moment, a bit of the old light returning, as he stated, "They were high."

"Yes, Jay, I know this."

"You do," Jay asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.  "How?"

"With your friend a member, I knew it was only a matter of time," Dracula explained.  "At any rate, get on which what you were saying."

"Right.  Well, they found Mrs. Harker exactly as you instructed me to leave her, and then I dusted her with the crossbow you gave me.  The doors closed and the League was trapped within.  I turned on the gas then, and I figured that would be the end of it.  Even the dead one would die eventually, 'cause the gas would kill his bird."

"Nigma was right," Dracula added, nodding.  "I suppose I owe him some form of reward."  Dracula gave a shrug and a cocky laugh.  "Oh well.  He's fouled up far too many times for one success to warrant my praise.  Go on."

"The three Leaguers that had been left behind eventually managed to save their teammates and trap the Anti-League within Harker's mansion."

"I see.  There is no real loss there," Dracula returned.  "I made a grievous error in recruiting those brainless idiots in the first place.  This rids me of that.  Is that all?"

"Banner managed to come to and get them out," Jay explained, "but they haven't returned.  I think they've taken the limo you gave them and quit."

"It's no matter," Dracula shrugged.  "The League is already here.  Now, I have only one further question before you and Raze take your men and deal with them.  How goes the, ah…project?"  Dracula's tone was slightly amused when saying the final word, which Jay still thought was slightly creepy.

"The project is ready for releasing whenever you choose," Jay replied, his tone uneasy despite his best attempts to cover it up.

"Good.  You are dismissed."  Jay began to leave the chamber that served as Dracula's throne room, but was halted by Dracula's voice.  "Oh, and be sure you slaughter them in an open area.  I want to watch."

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The League crept along, several of them very pale due to the stink of the place.  Selene and Alex couldn't get any paler, but Indy, Robin, Bruce, Bob, and Zorro were all white as sheets.  Finally, after several moments of silence, Bruce couldn't take it anymore.  "God, that smell is horrible."

"I was hoping somebody else would say it," Indiana groaned.  "Though I've smelled it before."

"So have I," Robin added.  "Should we…should we look in the houses?"

"No," Zorro replied quickly.  "I would rather not see what is producing that smell."

"I'll look," Alex sighed, shaking his head.  When the eyes the League turned to face him, he explained, "Curiosity killed the cat, not the crow."

"Fair enough," Selene replied.  "But _be careful_."

"Yeah," Robin agreed.  "You might not be able to die, but anything or anyone in that house can still kill some of us."  Alex mumbled something under his breath before cautiously approaching one of the houses, peering in through a window on the front of the house.  What he saw disgusted him and made him sick to his core.

A family lay inside, all dead of gunshot wounds to the head.  Despite the three year old with half his head blown off, that wasn't the most disturbing thing about it.  No, the most disturbing thing about it was that it looked like something had taken large bites out of them after they were dead.

Alex stumbled backward and clapped his free hand over his mouth to keep from throwing up.  "What is it," Robin called, beginning to move to look.

"NO," Alex shouted, flinging his free hand out.  "No, you don't want to look.  Let's just keep walking, and the next time someone is curious, don't mention anything."  He paused, and added, "But I don't think we need to be too careful.  There are no civilians."

"Doesn't mean you don't need to be careful," a familiar voice teased, and the League all looked skyward.

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Dracula laughed at Alex's reaction to what was inside the house.  Apparently, even a dead man could get sick.  With a heavy sigh, he turned away from his window, letting things play out as Fate willed them.  He needed to check on his project, and he had to go to the dungeon to do that.  Before he exited the throne room, he flicked out a cellular phone and dialed a number.  "Doctor?  No, not yet.  I'm just coming down to check on the project.  Yes, that's right.  They're here, but don't worry about that, they'll be taken care of.  Alright, I'll only be a moment."  He hung the phone up and let it drop back into his pocket.  Soon, he mused mentally, soon he would have his revenge.

And in this case, revenge really was a dish best served cold.  Cold, and with a voracious appetite.

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"Jay," Robin growled, his eyes falling on the man standing on the roof directly in front of them, a small troop of what appeared to be half vampires behind him.  "I thought you couldn't come out in sunlight."

"_Half_-vampire, Boy Wonder," Jay quipped.

"Hello, Selene," Raze growled from the roof he was standing on, alone.

"I was wondering why you weren't with the Anti-League," Selene snarled.

"They were merely a distraction," Raze returned.

"A costly one," Jay continued, "but a distraction nonetheless."

"For what," Indiana questioned, his revolver out, though he knew it wouldn't really hurt either of the two.

"Not _what_," Jay explained.

"Who," Raze corrected.  "Dracula needed time to develop his project.  So the Anti-League was formed merely to keep you distracted and feed you disinformation."

"When you got too close," Jay picked up, "I was sent to lead you into a trap.  It really didn't matter whether you got out or not.  The purpose of the trap was to keep you distracted for just a little…bit…longer."

Bruce's eyes were squeezed shut, but his fists weren't clenched.  Selene almost had time to wonder about that before Bruce just…changed.  There was no scream, no yell, no pounding or pain…he just changed.  The reason for that was obvious.  Bruce had _wanted_ to change, had given into it, and for once, the beast within him had been in agreement.  "This just another distraction," Hulk asked, once he'd fully changed, glaring up at Jay.

"Oh, no," Jay explained, chuckling.  "This is the end of the line for you."  Quite abruptly, the former stoner leapt forwards, tackling Bob harshly and sending the two of them careening into a house.

"You and I have unfinished business," Raze snarled, throwing off his clothing and changing into his lycan form.  Selene snarled right back and leapt upward, landing on the roof, guns blazing.

Jay's troop of half-vampires leapt off the roof, separating the League quickly and efficiently; Alex was forced down one street, Robin another, Hulk a third, Indiana a fifth, and Zorro was thrown through the window of a shop.

When the place had cleared, a soft chuckle seemed to come from nowhere, and Darien Fawkes continued on towards Dracula's castle, remaining invisible.

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Hulk batted at the half-vampires as they tried futilely to attack him.  The creatures were persistent, he had to give them that, but there was little else the behemoth could give them credit for.  While he'd initially been taken by surprise when the six of them swarmed him, now he was handling the situation.  Two of the creatures came in to try and attack him at once, but he reached out his large green hands, grabbed them, and viciously smashed their heads together.  The remaining four began to surround him, moving cautiously, eyeing him warily.  Finally, when Hulk could take the wait no longer, he lashed out at one of the creatures in front of him.

It wasn't until he felt the fangs pierce his throat that he realized he should've aimed for behind him.

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Robin was having a hard time holding his own against the four half-vampires that had swarmed him.  They were like killer bees, one attacking, being blocked, ducking back, and another darting in immediately.  It was all Robin could do to keep blocking the attacks, hoping for a chance to attack.  He reached a dead end in the alley, and knew that he had his chance now.  It was risky, but if he didn't do this he knew that Jay would be right, and he would die here.  He yanked a Batarang into his hand and threw it at the lead creature's throat, even as he hopped up into the air and pushed off the wall.  He front flipped as he sailed through the air and landed behind the creatures, and by the time they managed to turn around, he was twirling a Bat Bola.  "Don't feel bad," he stated, an amused smirk on his face.  "You almost had me."  He launched the bola, succeeding in tying up two of the creatures.  One still remained, and he noticed that the other was spurting blood from a wound to his jugular.  He wasn't sure what that would do to a half-vampire, but right now, he was concerned only with fighting off the remaining capable one.

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Alex wasn't having too much of a problem with the five creatures that swarmed him.  After all, there wasn't much they could do to him, what with his crow still on the Sword.  At least, that's what he thought; until he heard a sharp caw that drew the attention of the creatures he was fighting.  "Oh, hell," he growled, stabbing his knife through the head of one of the half-vampires, piercing his brain and downing him instantly.  The two females closest to their now dead comrade hissed and launched themselves at Alex, while the remaining two, another female and a male, made a mad dash for the large black bird.  The two females met with an unfortunate end when Alex punched them both in the face, knocking them back, before shoving his hand forward, shattering the nose of one and sending the bone into her brain.  The other was downed thanks to a vicious hacking at her neck that resulted in almost total decapitation.

Alex looked up to see his crow holding the eyeball of the one of the half-vampires in its talons, cawing in what Alex could recognize as laughter.  Alex shook his head, grinning slightly, before throwing his knife into the back of the head of the creature that still held both his eyes.  The knife buried itself in the man's head, burrowing deep into his brain, and the creature dropped limply to the ground.  Alex calmly went to retrieve his knife, even as the female grew sharp talons and shoved them into his gut.  He sighed in exasperation and glared at her.  "Are you done?"  She wasn't given a chance to respond, as Alex grabbed her arm, ripped the talons out of his gut, and buried them in her head.  "Thought so," he grumbled, finally retrieving his knife from the back of the male creature's head.  "And _you_ were supposed to stay inside," he snapped, jabbing a finger in the bird's direction.

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Zorro was fending off only one of the half-vampires, and enjoying it a great deal.  The creature he was facing was incredibly stupid, it seemed, and had no skill with the sword he held.  A child could do better than this, Zorro knew – he had memories of his own son being better.  In point of fact, was this man not half-vampire, he would be dead from one of the many thrusts Zorro had successfully gotten through in his game.  He heard a bellow from Hulk that sent a shiver up his spine, and Zorro decided his game was over.  "This is where you surrender your king," he stated.  "Though you youngsters would probably say 'Hit the reset button.'"  Zorro lunged forward, his rapier piercing the creature's heart, making it convulse once and then go limp on his sword.  He yanked his sword out, a spurt of blood following.  "Damnable squirters," he mumbled, before focusing his attention on where he'd heard the bellow.  It had been close, he knew that much, even though with Hulk's size the volume of the bellow did not necessarily mean proximity.  Still, he turned to the right and ran down the back alley that was there, feeling as if he was getting closer with every step.

Zorro skidded to a halt when he saw one of the creatures smash into the wall almost directly in front of him, more or less exploding from the sheer force of the throw.  "So much for keeping my clothes clean," Zorro muttered, before turning and seeing Hulk trying to shake off all of the creatures.  The surviving creatures had somehow managed to latch onto him, and it appeared that he was having a hard time getting them off.  Zorro sighed and walked forward, tapping the lowest one on the shoulder.  The idiotic creature actually turned his head, to which Zorro could merely say, "Hello," before running the creature through on his sword.  The half-vampire fell limply to the ground, even as Hulk ripped one off his back and used him as a club to smash his remaining companion.  That done, Hulk slammed his makeshift club into the ground, spraying gore across the floor as this one, too, exploded.  "You know," Zorro, sighed, "you _could_ try to be a little less messy."

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Indiana had been tackled by two of the creatures, and now one was holding him while the other took swings at his stomach.  It was all very Rocky-esque, only instead of a boxer there was a half-vampire, and instead of a side of beef, there was an aged explorer.  Still, as much as this hurt, Indiana knew he had to endure it, even as his hand inched towards his whip.  If he could just get to his whip, he could put a stop to this.  He could hear the sounds of battle going on all around him, Selene and Raze smashing through walls, Hulk bellowing loudly – though with Hulk, it was always loudly – and he thought he could even hear Robin from somewhere nearby.  His hand was almost there, almost there…got it!  Now, with a soft flick of the wrist, the whip coiled loosely around the ankle of the creature hitting him.  "Go…Rocky," Indy gasped out, to which the amused half-vampire raised his eyebrow.

"What?"

"Go…Rocky…to hell."  Indy kicked out at the knee of the one holding him, causing the creature to stumble backwards, and Indy yanked himself free.  At the same time, he yanked hard on his whip, pulling the half-vampire's leg out from under him and sending him to the ground.  Indiana didn't want to be brutal, but since his revolved had been taken, it was his only option.  He brought his foot up and then down, stomping the half-vampire's head twice, cracking the creature's skull open and smashing a portion of the brain, killing it instantly.  He heard the click of a gun to his left, and turned to face the remaining half-vampire.  His face was, at first, grim, but then it turned into an amused grin.  "You might wanna look behind you."

"That's the oldest trick in the-"  The saying died on his lips as the Batarang thunked into the back of his head, dropping him after a brief twitch, revealing Robin standing about four feet behind him.

"Book," he provided, smirking.

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Selene and Raze had fought briefly on the rooftop, but had fallen and smashed through a wall soon after the fight had started.  Selene was trying to keep Raze back, firing the AG rounds at him, refusing to consider the silver nitrate rounds in her pockets.  She'd made a promise once, and it was a promise she planned on keeping.  Instead, she relied on strafing and skillful dodges to keep her safe, even as Raze lunged wildly for her, seeming to ignore the pain that the silver bullets were causing him.  "You know, this is your fault," Selene growled above her still-firing guns.  "If you hadn't killed Michael, I wouldn't even be in this bloody League."  Raze's only reply was a feigned lunge, that ended in a successful backhand that sent her through a bookcase.  The lycan didn't waste the opportunity to pounce, pinning Selene to the ground and bringing his snarling maw inches from her face.  "Raze, I swore something to Michael just before he died."  The response was a head-butt that was an attempt at silencing her.  Raze didn't want to hear her scream when he killed her.  "Do you know what it was that I swore," she groaned, blinking back unconsciousness.  "I swore I would never use silver nitrate rounds again."  With startling ferocity, she shoved the lycan off of her and rolled into a crouch, one gun pointed at Raze's head.  "But I guess some promises can't be kept."  She pulled the trigger, her gun going off with the brilliant flash from the muzzle, and then the lycan snarled and started to move towards her again.

He stopped abruptly as the silver nitrate began to take effect, killing him almost instantly due to the bullets position in his brain.  Selene looked sorrowfully at her guns before letting the silver nitrate rounds drop to the ground.  "No more."  She reloaded her guns with regular silver bullets and stood again, intent on finding the others.

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Meanwhile, Jay and Silent Bob were fighting harder than anyone had ever seen from either.  Somehow, Jay had learned how to fight, and now wielded a sword with the kind of skill Bob would expect to find in someone who had studied for years.  The pair of them went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, neither gaining any ground.  Bob swept his leg out to try and trip Jay up.  Jay hopped over it and brought his sword around in a horizontal slash headed for Bob's neck.  Bob brought his bat up and blocked the slash, forcing Jay backwards with a kick to the gut.  Bob didn't let this small advantage go to waste, coming in close and swinging his bat upwards in a vertical arc, smacking Jay under the chin and sending him reeling backwards.  A swing to the face followed, sending Jay stumbling to the left.  The thrust that had been intended to break his nose was blocked, and Jay lashed out with his free hand, punching Bob in the face.  Blood began to seep from his nose, but it wasn't broken.  Neither spoke as Jay ducked forward, feigning a slash, instead rolling to Bob's left and coming up into a crouch, swinging his foot back and around to trip Bob up.  Bob managed to hop over it and thrust his bat into Jay's back, sending Jay back down to the ground.  Bob attempted to bring his back down on the back of Jay's head, but he rolled out of the way, stopping on his back to kick up at Bob, his foot connecting with Bob's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.  Bob staggered back and attempted to regain his breath while Jay began to rise off the ground.

Bob surprised the half-vampire by swinging low, taking out Jay's left kneecap and sending him back to the floor on his knees.  He was still coughing, though not as badly, and seemed more intent than ever to free Jay's soul.  He let out a weak growl and brought his bat down on Jay's head, stunning him briefly.  A kick to the face furthered the effect and sent him all the way to the ground, his back pressed against it, a pleading look on his face.  "Please, Bob…please don't kill me."  Bob blinked back tears as he brought his bat down on Jay's head once more, sending the half-vampire into unconsciousness.

Selene closed the door as a tearful Bob picked up Jay's sword and removed a handful of garlic from his pocket.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The others had all meandered back to where they'd last seen each other.  Selene was the last to arrive, and Bob was still missing.  "Everybody okay," Robin questioned, looking over them all.  Hulk was healing from several small puncture wounds that Robin guessed were from vampiric fangs, his green hands dripping blood and gore.  Zorro's clothing was more or less splattered in the same, which Robin knew couldn't have been pleasant.  Alex looked no worse for the wear, with the exception of his shirt, but that wasn't unusual.  Indiana was breathing a bit more shallowly, but with the punishment his stomach had taken, that wasn't unusual either.  Selene looked slightly sad, and there was a brilliant bruise on her forehead, but other than that she seemed okay.

"Where silent man," Hulk questioned.  Selene gestured off to the house she had seen him in, but when Robin started to move towards it, Selene grabbed his arm and shook her head.

"He's freeing Jay's soul," Selene explained.  Robin appeared confused, and Selene explained, "To free the soul of one of Dracula's vampires, you have to cut off their head and place garlic in their mouth."

"Oh, God," Indiana gasped.

"Bob not like it," Hulk replied.

"Yeah," Robin agreed, "but he doesn't like Jay as one of Dracula's creatures more."  The door opened, and a broody looking Bob came out, bruised, his nose bloody, and broody, but otherwise okay.  He walked solemnly over to the others, glancing around the group before looking to Indiana expectantly.

"Hey, wait a minute," Alex said.  "Where's Darien?"  Bob gestured to Dracula's castle.  "What?"

"Invisible," Bob spoke.

"What," Robin asked, furrowing his brow.  "Why?"  Bob gestured to himself and then gestured to the roof where Jay had stood.

"I get it," Selene nodded.  "You suspected that Dracula would have a surprise waiting for us, so you told Darien to go invisible so that one of us could continue on to Dracula's castle."  Bob nodded, and Indiana grinned despite the situation.

"Good plan," the elderly explorer praised.  Bob shrugged before gesturing to the castle.  "Now, we should probably head that way ourselves.  Come on."  Again as one, the League turned towards the castle and headed off, no longer worried about any surprises.


	9. The Final Battle

**The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen**

**Dreams of the Damned**

**Chapter Eight**

**The Final Battle**

**AN:** Alrighty folks, as this title indicates, this will be the last chapter of the story. I thought it would go longer, but what can you do, y'know? This story will mark my first complete full length (well, chaptered, at least) so I'm immensely glad that I was able to entertain people with it. Your reviews mean a lot to me, and honestly, I dunno if I'd have been able to finish this story at all if it weren't for people reviewing it.

**EK:** Many thanks, I appreciate it. I'm really glad you like the line-up, because truthfully, I'm broke most of the time and don't get to see movies. So the characters that are mentioned are really thought out (I had to dig around in my head for a little bit to come up with Im-Ho-Tep) and I never include someone that I have not personally seen or read an in-depth analysis of. The exception, I'm afraid, is our intrepid Mr. Jones (I saw Raiders when I was younger, but unfortunately can't remember it very well) so I'm glad people are responding well to him.

**TARilus:** You're gonna give me a big head, I swear, lol. Oh, and as to our dear, undead former freedom fighter…() I should've explained better. I mentioned in an earlier chapter that he had Dracula's mark on his forehead. I should've described the mark, which is actually (borrowed from the Tzimisce of Vampire: The Masquerade) a serpentine dragon curled in a circle, devouring its own tail, with a blood drop imposed over a gothic, upside down cross. Dracula used a personally designed black magick spell to raise him, and that mark is what kept him alive. My humble apologies for not including that earlier.

I hope you enjoy the last chapter of Dreams of the Damned…and I hope you'll enjoy the sequel when I post it.

* * *

Darien crept along the empty roads, taking things slowly, but not _too_ slowly. He could feel the Quicksilver worming its way into his mind, and knew that if he remained invisible for too much longer, the Quicksilver Madness would take over, and he would become a snickering, cold-blooded, murderous lunatic. He also knew, though, that if he turned off his invisibility, Dracula would be able to see him from that castle, and that would be a bad, bad thing. 'Nobody's here' he thought to himself. 'I can't go back to normal, but I _can_ run. It's not like he'll _hear_ me' Darien thought to himself, before doing just that.

Darien was a fairly physically fit man. Maybe not as fit as Robin, but then again, Robin probably had the super-hero equivalent of a fifth degree black belt. That said, Darien found it fairly easy to get up the hill to the castle. He paused, as he got closer to the door, hearing some odd noises coming from a small grating that apparently ventilated an area of the castle that was below ground.

Being the curious individual that he is, Darien couldn't resist for long, and carefully made his way over to the grating. "Curiosity killed the cat," he whispered, mimicking Selene's voice. "Damn glad I'm not a cat," he muttered, and crouched down to peer inside the grate.

Then he half-leapt, half-fell away, a look of total fear coming over his invisible face. He fumbled with the walkie-talkie on his belt, struggling with it for a full minute before managing to get it off his belt. He finally managed to do so, but slammed his hand against the ground as the walkie-talkie suddenly slipped free, and he cursed loudly before bringing it up to his mouth and hitting the talk button. "Bob," he whispered, his tone urgent. "Bob, it's Darien. You _seriously_ need to hear what I found."

* * *

The League, who had made it perhaps half as far as Darien, stopped abruptly when they heard the walkie-talkie on Bob's belt blare to life. It was heavy with static, and almost impossible to make out what the invisible man was saying. Bob yanked the walkie-talkie free and tossed it to Robin, who held it to his ear and tried to make out what Darien was saying. After a few moments, the walkie-talkie went dead, and Robin shook his head, sighing. "Nothing." The Boy Wonder pressed the talk button on the walkie-talkie and spoke Darien's name into it, getting nothing but static in return. "Darien?" Several more minutes of static were enough to make Robin sigh heavily. "Guess we'll find out when we get there. C'mon." He tossed the small communication device back to Bob, who replaced it on his belt. The League glanced at each other before continuing on their path to the castle.

"What if he was saying something important," Alex asked, after several moments of heavy silence.

"We'll find out when we get there," Selene replied. "Just like Robin said."

"Darien's not stupid," Indiana observed. "He won't go in there without the rest of us." Bob nodded his agreement, removing a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it with a silver zippo. Selene, who had been standing close by him, scooted away slightly when he lit the flame. Bob looked at her quizzically and she just shrugged.

"Most vampires have an instinctual fear of fire," she responded. "We're not really sure why."

"It could be a predator thing," Indiana offered. "Like how cavemen would build fires at night to ward off big animals that would normally have them for a midnight snack."

"That makes sense," Zorro agreed. "Scientifically, anyway. Though I do not think there is much science to a vampire."

"Good point," Indiana mused. "Selene…this is something that might help us fight any other vampires we ever go up against. Would you mind if maybe we could study you a bit after this mission?"

"Study me," Selene questioned, her eyebrows rising. "I'll have to give that some thought, Mr. Jones."

"Oh, of course," Indiana replied sincerely. "Hmm…maybe if he has any other vampires inside his castle, we could capture one and study them instead."

"Don't you think that's a little inhuman," Robin responded, sounding slightly miffed. "I mean, like it or not these people are still alive. They're not all bad. I mean, look at Selene."

"Fair enough," Indiana replied. "Though it _would_ help us in the future." Hulk, who had been oddly silent during the trek, shook his large, green head.

"Not nice," he observed. "Mean or not, studying wrong. Hulk knows." Indiana nodded, remembering what the file had said about Hulk, how he'd been kidnapped as Bruce Banner and poked, prodded, and beaten, until finally Hulk was forced out into the open.

"I guess you're right," Indiana stated. "Sorry." Hulk waved a large, dismissive hand.

"Already forget," Hulk responded.

* * *

Darien cursed loudly as he realized that the League hadn't heard him, glaring at the grating as if whatever was inside was at fault. The truth was, Darien didn't know for sure that it wasn't, in a roundabout way. Sighing heavily, he removed a cell phone from his pocket and lifted it to his ear, hugging the wall of the castle and turning off his invisibility, the strain to fight off the Quicksilver getting to be too much. He dialed a few numbers and put the phone up to his ear, hearing it ring twice before the person on the other line picked it up. "Bond," Darien breathed.

"Mr. Fawkes," Bond questioned. "What's going on? Why are you whispering?"

"I'm outside Dracula's castle. You and Bob were right, Dracula did have a few surprises waiting."

"I see. Why are you calling me? When I gave you this phone, I told you that it was only in the case of an emergency, such as a member of the League going AWOL."

"This is an emergency, Bond," Darien whispered sharply. "We need some kind of containment down here."

"For what? The castle?"

"No," Darien replied, his voice grave. "The whole damn town."

It didn't take long for the rest of the League to catch up to Darien, who they saw hugging the wall, dropping a cell phone into his pocket. "Robin," he hissed, stepping away from the wall, "we need to-"

"Not right now, Darien," Robin responded, waving him off. "We need to get inside." He removed a grappling hook from his utility belt and swung it up onto one of the lower parapets of the castle.

"Robin-"

"Darien, calm down," Selene replied, her voice comforting yet cold. Darien sighed and gestured for the rest of the League to go before him. When Bob tried to step towards the dangling rope, though, Darien put a hand to his chest to stop him.

"Go get The Sword," Darien instructed. Bob tossed him a questioning glance, but Darien shook his head. "Just do it." Something about the urgency in the invisible man's voice must have convinced him, because Bob turned and began jogging back towards The Sword. "I hate to sound cliché," Darien muttered to himself, beginning to ascend the rope, "but I sure hope we got here in time."

Something in the room ventilated by the grate grunted.

* * *

"Alright everybody," Indiana whispered, his gun drawn, whip coiled in his free hand, "stay alert. Who knows what Dracula's got in here?"

"I do," Darien muttered under his breath, but the others either didn't hear him or didn't care.

"Darien, go invisible," the explorer instructed. "Everybody else, stay as stealthy as you can." He glanced at Hulk and added, "Hulk…just try not to make too much noise." Hulk grinned and nodded, meandering over towards the right wall of the shadowed corridor. Darien sighed and did what he was told.

It seemed that Dracula was immune to that fear of fire that Selene mentioned, as he still used torches to light his castle. Of course, the King of the Undead hadn't been awake all that long, it was possible that he just hadn't had new light fixtures installed yet.

After several corridors and quite a few minutes of uninterrupted progress, Robin looked to Indiana, a question in his eyes. "Where is everybody," he whispered softly. "I mean, shouldn't there be more vampires here?"

"Unless Dracula really planned to get revenge on the world by himself," Zorro agreed, "then yes."

"Somehow I don't think the King of the Undead is that stupid," Selene mused. Alex nodded, and Hulk joined him, his voice being naturally too loud for any kind of stealth. They were in front of two large, regal looking double doors, and suddenly, those doors swung open, revealing a throne room fit for a king.

And the king stood at the doors, smirking at his would-be destroyers.

Dracula looked very different from the way he was described in Bram Stoker's novel, though certain things appeared to be the same. The nose, while somewhat altered, fit the description, though there was no mustache underneath. His facial construction seemed to be changed somewhat, yet the cold, evil look in his eyes identified him as Dracula easier than any similarities to the version of him described in a novel. "Hello. I would deliver my famous line, but you have already entered, and you do not seem happy." His tone was amused…_very_ amused.

"Robin," Darien's voice came from very close behind the crime fighter.

"Damnit Darien, _not now_," Robin hissed. Darien tried again, but Dracula shot forward, a sword coming from nowhere, causing the League to split apart. Hulk and Alex were on Dracula's right, while Zorro, Indiana, Selene, and Robin were on his left. No one could tell where Darien was, which was probably a good thing for the League.

"Well, that was effective," Dracula, observed, that damnable smirk never leaving his face. "I believe you all are afraid of me."

"Hulk not afraid," Hulk bellowed, stepping away from the wall and swinging his large fist at Dracula.

"You should be," Dracula responded, flipping backwards and landing on the wall. Robin made a grab for him, but Dracula was already launching himself back through the air, his sword pointed toward Hulk. The Jade Giant's enormous bulk kept him from dodging more than a little, and the sword plunged into his left lung, causing Hulk to gasp in pain. He reached out, trying to grab Dracula, but the vampiric warrior just crawled over Hulk's hand, clinging to the back of the giant green hand. "For all your strength, giant, you are nothing." Hulk swung his hand backwards, intending to smash Dracula into the wall, but the vampire jumped off his hand and landed right back where he'd started, even as Hulk's hand, moving too fast to stop, slammed into the wall, taking a large chunk out of it and collapsing a piece of the ceiling overtop of the Jade Giant, the stone pieces knocking him gradually into unconsciousness.

"My turn," Robin growled, starting to step forward. Selene grabbed his shoulder and stopped him, stepping forward instead. "Selene?"

"Ah, a vampire," Dracula observed. "A capable one, from all appearances." Selene ducked in, bringing her guns up, squeezing off three shots.

Dracula had already flipped over her head and landed behind her, arms crossed, still smirking. "Perhaps I was wrong." Selene spun, but was met with Dracula's foot smashing into her face, staggering her backwards, one hand going to her jaw, which was obviously broken. She squeezed off a shot with her free hand, but Dracula dodged that, ducking forwards, slashing at Selene's leg.

Selene tried to dodge, but couldn't move backwards fast enough as she was still dazed from the kick. She managed to keep her right leg from being completely hacked off, but dropped to the ground as Dracula's sword tore a deep cut in it nonetheless. Robin and Alex were inching closer to each other, acknowledging the need for teamwork, and Indiana took up Selene's defense, firing a shot at Dracula and then cracking his whip to keep the vampire from getting too close. "Where the hell is Darien," Indiana groaned, firing another shot at the King of the Undead.

* * *

Darien, now visible, crept silently along a different hallway on the lower level. He knew that the rest of the League would probably hate him for leaving them in a time of need like that, but when they found out his reasons, there was no way they could fault him for his actions. 'Heh, not like even _I_ know what I'm doing' he chided himself.

What he was doing was, in fact, searching for the entrance to the room that was ventilated by the grate. He didn't know what he could do once he was down there, but then again, he wasn't a planner, more like a doer. 'An' that's fried my ass before' he again chided mentally.

Finally, after wandering down several more hallways and taking several random turns, he thought he caught wind of a sound coming from down at the end of this dimly lit, spooky hallway. 'Great' Darien thought, 'just fucking great.' He moved carefully down the hall, not making a sound, thankful that his thieving abilities had not yet turned rusty. As he neared the end of the hallway, the outline of a door began to take shape, and then the door opened, and a bald man in a white lab coat stepped out, turning to close the door behind him.

Darien saw his chance and took it, coming up behind the man and pressing a pilfered knife to the doctor's throat. "Alright, pal," he growled, trying to sound intimidating, "how about you tell me all about your little project."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside Dracula's throne room, the remaining Leaguers were trying to think of a plan, the throne room doors closed and locked, temporarily preventing the vampire lord entrance.

Indiana had managed to distract Dracula long enough for Robin and Alex to meet up behind him. The pair had charged, Robin bringing throwing a Batarang and Alex coming in immediately after Dracula had dodged and sweeping the vampire's legs out from under him. Alex and Robin had grabbed Hulk, hauling him into the throne room with some difficulty, as Indiana kept a recovering Dracula at bay with his gun and whip. Zorro had come in behind him and grabbed Selene, spun around, and ducked into the throne room, Indiana joining them a moment later. Alex and Robin slammed the doors, barricading them with the large, movable wooden boards that some medieval lords had used as locks.

Darien's absence was obvious to them all, and Zorro was cursing him for a traitor. Had been for the last half a minute, in fact, and with the pounding that was Dracula trying to break through his own doors, Robin had had about enough of it. "Damnit Zorro, _shut up_ and help us think of a plan!"

"My apologies," Zorro replied, looking like he meant anything _but_ what he'd said. "I do not take well to treachery."

"Neither do I," Robin returned, "but we have more pressing matters to deal with right now!"

"He's right," Indiana agreed, Alex nodding his own silent agreement.

"You are right," Zorro replied, nodding his head sincerely. "But what can we do? Our two strongest members are incapable of combating him, and I do not think myself a match for his sword."

"Well I'm certainly not," Robin returned. "Neither is Indiana, and neither is Alex! That's the thing none of you are getting! We have to hit him together! Together or there's no point, 'cause we're all fucked otherwise!"

"Alright, alright," Indiana stated, trying to get Robin to calm down. "Take a deep breath and cool it, you're not going to be of any use if you can't think straight."

"Wait," Zorro snapped sharply. He paused for a moment and then frowned. "He isn't banging anymore."

"That's because I don't need to," came Dracula's angry voice a moment before his body followed, sailing through an open area that looked like a window without a frame or glass. He tackled Zorro effortlessly, trying to get a good stab in on the eternally young freedom fighter. Robin ducked in, Indiana joining him, and they each grabbed a shoulder. Working together, in one concerted pull, they managed to tear Dracula off of Zorro and send him stumbling backwards. Alex struck then, coming in low with a thrust of his knife to Dracula's stomach that doubled the vampire over, piercing his guts, even as Dracula stabbed at Alex's crow, killing it. Alex's face was twisted in rage, a guttural snarl tearing from his lips as he brought his knife up and brought the handle down on the vampire's head, knocking him to the ground, even as Dracula stabbed upwards, gaining a lucky stab through Alex's chest, his sword sticking inside the formerly immortal Leaguer, who stumbled back, taking Dracula's sword with him, before falling backwards, his eyes fluttering shut.

"Lauren…I'm coming home," he muttered happily, his last breath dieing with those words.

Robin came darting in then, as Dracula tried to get up, delivering a sharp kick to the head that sent Dracula reeling backwards. Indiana cracked his whip against Dracula's face, leaving a large gash. Robin growled at the vampire lord as Selene tossed him a stake, kicking the vampire once more for good measure, sending him backwards and smashing his back into some sort of control panel. Robin ducked in, raising the stake high above his head. "Any last words," he growled, not intending to let Dracula have any.

"Only this: You're fucked." Dracula's right hand rose and fell so swiftly that Robin couldn't stop it, smashing down on a small red button on the control panel. There was a loud creaking from outside, followed by overjoyed, animalistic shrieks.

Just then, the door burst open, Darien tearing in, dragging a doctor behind him. "Robin, it's a virus!" Robin brought the stake down on the laughing Dracula, and then allowed Zorro to step forward to cut his head off. Darien was trembling in fear, the unconscious doctor having fallen from a suddenly limp hand.

"What's a virus," Robin questioned. Darien only gestured towards the window. Robin quirked an eyebrow as Dracula turned to dust, his head crumbling away in Zorro's hand. Darien gestured to the window again, and Robin moved toward it, gazing out before uttering a guttural curse that might not have seen the light of day in thousands of years.

Their skin was graying, rotting, some of it falling off as they ran. Their eyes were dead, hollow, some falling out as the rotting feet pounded on the pavement.

Zombies were flowing out of Dracula's castle.

Numbly, Robin saw The Sword mow through the first of them, pulling itself to a stop to try and block them off, unable to get close enough to close off the exit they were fleeing from. Hulk, who was just coming to, scooped everyone, with the exception of the now dead Alex, and leapt down to the ground, everyone piling into The Sword as Hulk, still reverting to Bruce Banner, stumbled in last.

* * *

Brody was driving like a maniac, trying to stay ahead of the swarm of voracious, single-minded undead as Darien explained what had happened to the rest of the League. "When I got to the castle, I was going to just wait there for you guys. Then I heard this weird noise, like groaning or moaning, coming from this grate. So, being the curious guy that I am – and I know, Selene, curiosity killed the cat – I looked in the grate. That's when I saw the zombies."

"Geez," Robin sighed, shaking his head. "And I wouldn't let you even tell me."

"_We_," Selene corrected him, her tone grim.

"Whatever, that's not important now," Darien replied, waving his hand dismissively. "What matters is that we get out of here before the dome gets put down."

"Dome," Indiana asked, his brow furrowing.

"Yeah. When I couldn't get you guys, I called up Bond-"

"Called up Bond," Zorro questioned, surprised.

"He gave me a cell phone and a phone number in case one or more of you went AWOL."

"He trusted you with that," Robin asked.

"He knew I wouldn't go traitor or AWOL because I need that cure," Darien explained. "Anyway, I called him up and said we needed a containment unit. After I told him what was in that basement, he said that they had a dome made of Plasteel that would work. Supposedly, it had originally been created in case that mutant guy, Magneto, took over a city. He'd be sealed off in that city, since his powers are magnetic, and the dome is Plasteel."

"Hey, guys," Brody's voice called uneasily, "I think you might wanna take a look at this!"

"The dome," Darien growled, the League shoving into the cockpit of The Sword. They gazed out at a dome being lowered by several helicopters. "…It'll be close, but we'll make it," the invisible man said, his voice tinged with relief.

That's when The Sword jolted forward, the front of it falling into a partially caved in house, hanging over the basement. Brody backed it up quickly, but there was no way they would make the dome now, not unless they all ran very, very fast.

The League and Brody swarmed out of The Sword, breaking into a run immediately. Robin made it first, with Selene ducking and rolling, yanking Bruce roughly with her. Zorro ducked and continued to run, almost banging his head as he passed under the dome. Darien made a slide that would make any baseball player jealous, barely managing to make it under the dome before it slammed into place.

Indiana and Brody were both trapped within.

The League immediately began shouting at the helicopter pilots to lift the dome back up. Bruce hulked out in the middle of a scream, and Hulk continued to shout, knowing from experience that even he couldn't break through Plasteel. The helicopter pilots either didn't hear the shouts or didn't care, as they detached the ropes tethering them to the dome and flew off.

Indiana watched sadly as they did so, knowing that he was going to die within that dome. Tears were streaming down Robin's eyes as he beat against the dome. Indiana laughed sadly and shook his head, mouthing the words "Run now," before turning and directing Brody to get back in The Sword and seal it. Brody gazed at the explorer for a long moment before doing as he was told.

Robin knew that if Indiana got in The Sword, he might survive. They could form a rescue plan, get the both of them out, and all would be well. The Sword had a well-stocked kitchen, facilities, and even life support for long periods of underwater travel. They would be sealed off from the ever hungry undead, and therefore safe.

Indiana knew that Robin knew this, and he shook his head again. He looked at each of the now silent Leaguers in turn, before his eyes fell on Robin. "I think this is my time," he mouthed. "I've loved working with each of you." Selene brushed a crimson tear from her pale face and placed a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Robin…I hope I was as good a role model as Batman." His final words said, he waved good-bye to his friends, spun, and began firing viciously at the rapidly gaining zombies. Robin pounded against the dome, Hulk joining in, but Zorro silently shook his head and then saluted Indiana Jones.

"I never thought I could work under anyone other than Antonio," Zorro stated. "I'm glad I was wrong. Good-bye, my friend." That said, Zorro turned away and slowly began walking.

Hulk had realized the futility of banging against the Plasteel, doing no more damage than a fly for all that he tried. "Hulk…Hulk sad. Jones good leader. Jones is Hulk's friend." A tear tracked its way down Hulk's cheek as he added, "Hulk will miss Jones." That said, he turned and wandered off, following Zorro.

"Robin," Selene breathed, trying to pull the young man away from the dome. "He wouldn't want you to see this." The zombies had almost reached Indiana, and he was out of bullets. Instead, he was cracking his whip, trying futilely to keep the zombies at bay.

Robin spun, hugging Selene fiercely, tears streaming down his face as he buried his face in her shoulder. Selene, despite herself, began shushing him softly and gently stroking the back of his head. She gazed at Indiana, as he backed up away from a zombie that was getting too close. "You were a warrior, Indiana, to the bitter end. I pray that your soul is remembered for the fighter it was. More than that, though, you were a rarer breed…you were a good man. I pray you see paradise, Indiana Jones."

Robin, still crying, with no hope of stopping anytime soon, turned and placed his hand on the dome, gazing one last time at the friend, role model, and idol he'd had on a pedestal since before he'd met Batman. "You weren't Batman," Robin stated, his nose running, his eyes pouring out a river. "You were better. You were Indiana Jones…you were yourself. Something that Batman, for all his efforts, could never be." Finally, after a moment of silence, he added, "I wanted to be like you." Selene turned the two of them around, letting Robin bury his face in her shoulder again.

"I think he would have liked that," she sighed softly, placing a gentle kiss on the top of Robin's head as they slowly trudged after the others.


End file.
